Speculations are rife regarding the possibility of the Bank of Japan increasing its interest rates very shortly, following a period of 17 years. This is due to the biggest union group in Japan declaring the toughest wage propositions in more than 30 years. Following this, the yen witnessed a slight dip compared to the dollar.
The present week is expected to be centered around crypto and the international market because of the prime central banks of Japan, the US, Australia, and more countries declaring their proposals for interest rate jumps. In this regard, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) will begin the proceedings regarding its two-day policy meeting.
In terms of Asian trading, the MSCI Asia Pacific Index witnessed gains riding on the wave of a rally in Japan, propelled by a weaker yen. However, the Nikkei 225 index was exposed to a substantial increase. US equity futures increased, following the S&P 500 dipping by 0.7%.
Advertisement
As per data from Bloomberg, swap traders have brought in roughly 28 points worth of rate increases about this year, with an expected March raise of around 54%. Goldman Sachs feels that the BOJ will increase rates due to wage jump, with the short-term rate being 0%-0.1%. The Economist at Goldman Sachs, Tomohiro Ota, informed investors that the BOJ has no requirement for further data regarding the policy shift.
This week may be another unbalanced one for Bitcoin and the wider cryptocurrency scenario. In the previous week, the price of Bitcoin was $65,000, with a fast recovery. It is currently trading at $68,620.21, with a market capitalization of $1.348 trillion.
As per the analysts of QCP Capital, they have noticed a large increase in the sales of BTC puts, meaning the disappearance of apprehension amongst investors. Additionally, there is an inclination towards long-dated September and December BTC calls aiming at prices between $100,000 and $150,000.
Advertisement
In the case of Ethereum, there is no real clarity since perpetual funding goes negative and risk turnaround remains, exposing a downward skew. Despite the continuing rally in substitute cryptocurrencies (altcoins), doubts remain regarding a fall in the price of ETH.
