Bitcoin price is approaching 100,000. Natural gas prices rise due to declining inventories and cold weather

At Thursday’s close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (US30) was up 1.06%. The S&P 500 Index (US500) closed positive 0.53%. The Nasdaq Technology Index (US100) was up 0.36%.

The Dollar Index remained above 107, holding near two-year highs, as investors assessed the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy outlook. Data released on Thursday showed that weekly US jobless claims unexpectedly fell to a seven-month low, further evidence of a strong labor market. Investors await business activity data today and inflation data next week for more economic information.

Alphabet (GOOG) fell more than 6% after antitrust regulators said in court Wednesday that Google must get rid of Chrome, citing that the browser “reinforced” the company’s dominant position. Salesforce (CRM) is up more than 4% and tops the leaderboard in the Dow Jones Industrials after Stifel raised its price target on the company’s shares to $390 from $350. PDD Holdings (PDD) is down more than 9% and tops the Nasdaq 100 losers list after reporting third-quarter revenue of ¥99.35 billion, weaker than the consensus estimate of ¥102.83 billion.

The price of Bitcoin (BTC/USD) rose more than 2%, hitting a new record high above $99,000 on optimism that President-elect Trump’s support for digital assets will boost the industry as the US moves toward friendly regulation of digital assets. Trump’s team has begun discussing creating a position in the White House dedicated to digital asset policy.

Inflationary pressures intensified in Canada, with producer prices rising 1.2% month-on-month in October, the strongest increase since April. Earlier data showed consumer inflation exceeded estimates on key indicators, with the average core inflation rate rising to 2.6% in October from a three-year low of 2.4% in September.

Equity markets in Europe ended trading yesterday on a strong note. Germany’s DAX (DE40) rose by 0.74%, France’s CAC 40 (FR40) closed 0.21% higher, Spain’s IBEX 35 (ES35) added 0.19%, and the UK’s FTSE 100 (UK100) closed up 0.79%. The Eurozone Consumer Confidence Index for November unexpectedly fell by 1.2 to a 5-month low of 13.7, weaker than expectations for a rise to 12.4.

The US natural gas prices rose by 7% to 4.3 million barrels per ton, extending yesterday’s 6% gain to the highest level in a year, as estimates of colder weather boosted heating demand and accelerated expectations for the start of the storage withdrawal season. EIA data showed that gas inventories in storage fell by 3 billion cubic feet in the week ending November 15 instead of the 5 billion cubic feet expected. This was the first accelerated decline this season, as relatively low prices in the previous week forced producers to cut production.

Asian markets traded flat yesterday. Japan’s Nikkei 225 (JP225) fell by 0.85%, China’s FTSE China A50 (CHA50) rose 0.11%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng (HK50) lost 0.53% and Australia’s ASX 200 (AU200) was negative 0.04%.

Malaysia’s annualized inflation rate for October 2024 was 1.9%, slightly above market estimates, and September’s 1.8%, the lowest in five months. Core consumer prices, excluding volatile fresh food and administrative costs, rose to 1.8% y/y, holding steady for the second month and remaining at the lowest level in six months.

Australian manufacturing activity continued to contract for the 10th consecutive month in November, although the rate of decline slowed to its lowest level in six months. At the same time, service sector activity moved into contraction for the first time in ten months.

Japan’s core Consumer Price Index, which excludes fresh food but includes fuel costs, rose to an annualized rate of 2.3% in October 2024. However, the increase was slightly above the market projections of 2.2%. Despite this, Japan’s core inflation has remained at or above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target for more than two years, which has contributed to the Central Bank’s more hawkish stance.