Investing.com – Take a peek at the top 5 things that rocked U.S. markets this week.
The euro made a late dash to the top
EUR/USD surged to session highs in late trade Friday, following a speech by European Central Bank president Mario Draghi at Jackson Hole.
As was widely expected, Draghi offered little in the way of clues about the European Central Bank’s plan to reduce its ultra-loose monetary policy measures but he did, however, highlight the trend of growing global economic growth.
In a speech titled “Sustaining openness in a dynamic global economy”, Draghi said the global recovery is firming up, suggesting that growth has been “visible for some years”, particularly in the US, Europe, and Japan.
Bitcoin back with a bang, nearly
Bitcoin resume its rally, following a poor to start to the week, when it fell to a nearly two-week low of $3,600 amid fears of a correction.
The slump in bitcoin, however, was short lived as the cryptocurrency rallied close to its all-time high of $4,489.1 on Friday, leaving many a trader talking up the prospect of the digital currency hitting $5,000.
There was no such luck for Bitcoin’s rival, Bitcoin Cash, as the newly created cryptocurrency fell from its recent peak of $935.50 to trade just above $600.
Yellen dented rate hike hopes
Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen avoided talking about monetary policy in a speech at Jackson Hole on Friday, denting expectations of a third rate hike later this year, pressuring the dollar to slump to a three-week low against its rivals.
It what could be Yellen’s last ever speech as Fed chair at the Jackson Hole symposium – as President Donald Trump has not indicated whether he will reappoint her – the Fed chief warned that any rollback of post-crisis regulations should be “modest” to ensure the safety of the financial system.
Crude oil kicked up bearish storm to post 4th weekly loss
Crude oil futures slumped to a fourth weekly loss, despite settling higher on Friday, on the back of concerns that Hurricane Harvey could disrupt refinery activity, reducing demand for crude oil.
Government weather agencies said Harvey became a Category 3 storm as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico with winds reaching 120 mph (193 kph).
Traders anticipated lower demand for crude oil, the primary input at refineries amid expectations that the storm could create flooding and power cuts, leading to disruption at refineries.
Gold tried to close above $1,300 but ultimately failed
Despite the drop in investor expectations of a rate hike later this year, and ongoing turmoil in Washington, gold futures struggled to close above $1,300.
The yellow metal looked set to breach the key level earlier in the week, following an uptick in US political uncertainty, after President Donald Trump threatened to ‘close down’ the government in order to secure funds for a U.S.-Mexico border wall.
Towards the tail end of the week, however, U.S. political uncertainty eased somewhat amid renewed hopes for tax reform, after chief economic advisor Gary Cohn said that president will make a major push on tax reform over coming weeks.