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Trading in crypto derivatives surges as investors hedge positions after FTX shock

By Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal

(Reuters) – Trading volumes in bitcoin futures and exchange traded funds (ETFs) has exploded as investors scrambled to hedge their positions after this week’s slump in digital tokens triggered by turmoil at crypto exchange FTX.

CME bitcoin futures November contracts traded at $17,250, with a volume of 13,292 at 11:24 a.m. EST (1624 GMT), which was a 3% discount to the spot price of $17,770.

Trading volumes soared on Tuesday and Wednesday as FTX’s woes worsened, touching 48,554 and 32,168 contracts respectively, significantly higher than volumes over the past two months which hovered between 4,902 and 27,309.

Bitcoin bounced 10% on Thursday after touching a late-2020 low earlier in the day as largest crypto exchange Binance walked away from a bailout of FTX, leaving the firm’s urgent push to plug a reported $8 billion hole in its finances.

The ProShares short bitcoin strategy ETF, a bearish play on CME bitcoin futures, witnessed record trading volume on Wednesday as investors hunted for “regulated, transparent futures market,” ProShares Global Investment Strategist Simeon Hyman said.

“This suggests an overwhelmingly strong unison desire to hedge, with shorts being the predominant force of leveraged exposure at the moment,” said Vetle Lunde, analyst at Norway-based crypto research firm Arcane Research.

Meanwhile, ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, which was halted for trading on Wednesday, has witnessed a 300% jump in trading volume in the from its previous high on October 21, 2022.

Assets under management for the BITO fund has shrunk by almost a third since its launch nearly a year ago to about $500 million, according to Refinitiv Lipper data.

Funding rates that represent sentiment in the perpetual swaps market, a major part of the bitcoin derivatives world, were negative 0.0219% on Thursday, according to Coinglass, trading near levels last seen in March 2020, Arcane Research’s Lunde said.

Negative funding rates imply sentiment is bearish as investors must pay to hold a short position.

Some market participants reported facing issues with borrowing and shorting cryptocurrencies.

“We’ve traded some spot in the last few days and trading desks are being very conservative with risk management right now so it wouldn’t surprise me that futures markets are getting a bit tricky to navigate,” said Greg King, chief executive officer at Osprey Funds.

(Reporting by Medha Singh and Lisa Pauline Mattackal in Bengaluru; Editing by Matthew Lewis)

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Tether says it holds $39.7 billion in U.S. Treasury Bills

LONDON (Reuters) – The largest stablecoin, Tether, increased its holdings of U.S. Treasury bills to $39.7 billion and reduced its commercial paper to around $50 million as of Sept. 30, 2022, according to a reserves attestation published on Thursday.

Tether said its reserves are “extremely liquid” with 82% of investments in cash, cash equivalents and other short-term deposits. Treasury bills make up over 58% of the total $68 billion in reserves, Tether said.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Gareth Jones)

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FTX signs deal with Tron to let users swap some assets

(Reuters) – Cryptocurrency exchange FTX has set up an agreement with Justin Sun’s blockchain network Tron that will allow holders of TRX and some other crypto tokens to swap assets from FTX to external wallets.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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Exclusive-Bankman-Fried seeks $9.4 billion package for FTX rescue-sources

By Anirban Sen

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Sam Bankman-Fried is seeking to put together a rescue package of up to $9.4 billion for his troubled cryptocurrency exchange FTX, a person with direct knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.

Bankman-Fried is discussing raising about $1 billion from crypto-token Tron founder Justin Sun, $1 billion from cryptocurrency exchange OKX, $1 billion from cryptocurrency firm Tether and $2 billion from a consortium of investment funds, the source said.

The remainder would come from other investors, the source added. One of the investors in talks with FTX is Daniel Loeb’s hedge fund Third Point, according to the source.

Bankman-Fried has had little progress so far in putting the rescue package together, according to the source. Yet he has resisted filing for bankruptcy and has refused to appoint restructuring advisers, the source said. The situation is fluid and the deliberations could quickly change, the source added.

The source requested anonymity because the matter is confidential. FTX, Sun, OKX and Third Point did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Reporting by Anirban Sen in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis)

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Crypto exchange FTX reopens withdrawals – CoinDesk

(Reuters) – Crypto exchange FTX has reopened withdrawals, CoinDesk reported on Thursday, citing on-chain data provided by analytics firm Nansen.

The company’s website, however, still displayed an earlier message that said it was unable to process withdrawals.

FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried has launched an urgent push to raise funds to save his firm as the crypto exchange looks to plug a reported $8 billion hole in its finances, according to tweets and a memo to employees.

A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Manya Saini in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

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FTX approaches crypto exchange Kraken for funds – Axios

(Reuters) – FTX has approached Kraken as potential rescue partner, Axios reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter, just hours after Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried said he had launched an urgent push to raise funds.

Bankman-Fried had earlier in the day said he was in talks with “a number of players” in the crypto sector, including Justin Sun who is the founder of crypto token Tron to rescue his cryptocurrency exchange.

FTX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported that FTX tapped into billions of dollars worth of customer assets to fund risky bets by its sister crypto trading company Alameda.

Bankman-Fried had told an investor this week that Alameda owed FTX about $10 billion, the report said, citing a person familiar with the matter said.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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Alameda Research to wind down trading, founder Sam Bankman-Fried says

(Reuters) – Trading firm Alameda Research is winding down operations, founder Sam Bankman-Fried said in a tweet on Thursday.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

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Dollar slumps after CPI data suggests Fed may ease rate hikes

By Herbert Lash and Harry Robertson

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – The dollar fell sharply on Thursday after U.S. consumer prices rose less than expected last month and data pointed to underlying inflation having peaked, opening the way for the Federal Reserve to slow its aggressive interest rate hikes.

The consumer price index rose 0.4% in October, the same increase in the prior month, the Labor Department said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the CPI would advance 0.6%.

Excluding volatile food and energy, core CPI increased 0.3% month-over-month after gaining 0.6% in September.

“A softer than expected inflation report is acting as a tailwind for markets. Every line of the report shows sequential improvement,” said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at B. Riley Wealth in New York.

“The good news is that we saw a significant sequential improvement, inflation is clearly moving in the right direction. And that keeps a more hawkish Fed at bay.”

The dollar index fell 1.495% and fed funds futures priced in a sharp decline in expectations for the Fed’s peak target rate, which fell below 5%. The likelihood of a 50% basis point hike by the Fed instead of 75 in December rose to 71.5%.

Annual inflation slowed as big increases last year drop out of the calculation for the index. CPI rose 7.7% in October on an annual basis, down from 8.2% the prior month, as headline inflation fell below 8% for the first time since February.

“The CPI report has reinforced the sell-off momentum in the dollar,” said MUFG currency strategist Lee Hardman.

“It gives the market more confidence that there could be a turn in the inflation cycle and the Fed could slow the rate hike pace in December.”

The euro rose 1.37% to $1.0148, while the Japanese yen strengthened 2.18% versus the dollar at 143.30.

The dollar had been on track for a second consecutive day of strong gains, with investors still waiting for the final results of U.S. mid-term elections on Tuesday, which will indicate whether the Democrats retain control of Congress.

The latest results showed Republicans were edging closer to securing a majority in the House of Representatives. Yet control of the Senate hung in the balance after Democrats performed better than expected. The dollar has surged more than 16% this year but lost some steam in recent weeks on hopes the Fed could begin reducing the size of its rate hikes after four consecutive increases by 75 basis points.

A crisis in the crypto world also hurt investor sentiment, analysts said. The Binance exchange on Wednesday abandoned a bailout deal of rival FTX, leaving FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried scrambling to explore all options, with his company on the brink of collapse.

“I do think there’s been a bit of contagion from what’s been going on in crypto,” said Ray Attrill, head of FX strategy at National Australia Bank.

Rabobank’s Foley said a sell-off in crypto assets is likely to have boosted the dollar.

Bitcoin rose 10.08% to $17,478.00 after plunging in the previous session to less than $16,000 for the first time since late 2020. It has tumbled more than 60% this year.

FTX’s native token, FTT, was 96% higher for the day at $2.977, though its month-to-date loss stood around 90%.

(Reporting by Herbert Lash, additional reporting by Harry Robertson, Dhara Ranasinghe in London, Rae Wee in Singapore and Bansari Mayur Kamdar in Bengaluru; Editing by David Goodman and Mark Heinrich)

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SEC Chair Gensler slams “non-compliant” crypto industry amid FTX turmoil- CNBC

(Reuters) – Crypto investors need better protection in a space that is “significantly non-compliant” despite clear regulations, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler said in an interview to CNBC on Thursday.

“The runway is running out. Investors around the globe are getting hurt,” he said while calling for cooperation from crypto companies.

The crypto industry continues to wobble due to fears of a possible collapse at FTX, one of the biggest digital asset exchanges in the world, after its bigger rival Binance abandoned a bailout deal for the company.

Gensler has for long argued the “Wild West” of crypto should be more actively regulated. He had in September suggested that companies that help transactions in the crypto market should register with the SEC and may need to split their operations into separate legal entities to mitigate conflicts of interest.

Months ago, the SEC began a probe of FTX.com’s handling of customers funds and its crypto lending activities.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru)

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CoinShares says has $30.3 million exposure to FTX

LONDON (Reuters) – Crypto asset manager CoinShares has $30.3 million worth of exposure to crypto exchange FTX, CoinShares said in a statement on Thursday.

CoinShares said its exposure to FTX includes $3.1 million worth of bitcoin and $1.2 million worth of ether in pending withdrawals requests which were sent before FTX halted customer withdrawals on Nov. 8. Its exposure also includes $25.9 million worth of dollars and the stablecoin USDC, and $110,000 of unspecified “other assets.”

“The financial health of the Group remains strong,” said CoinShares CEO, Jean Marie Mognetti, adding that its net asset value on Sept. 30, 2022 was 240.6 million pounds ($279.10 million).

($1 = 0.8621 pounds)

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft; Editing by Toby Chopra)

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FTX’s Bankman-Fried: Seeking capital raise, talked to Justin Sun – memo

NEW YORK (Reuters) – FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried told staff in a memo that he was seeking a capital raise and had held talks with Justin Sun, founder of the crypto token Tron, although did not want to imply anything about his chances of success.

In the memo, viewed by Reuters, Bankman-Fried said for the next week he would be “conducting a raise” to do right by customers and “possible new investors.”

Bankman-Fried told employees on Wednesday he was exploring all options for his firm after a deal with cryptocurrency exchange Binance collapsed.

(Reporting by Angus Berwick, writing by Megan Davies; Editing by Tomasz Janowski)

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Sam Bankman-Fried told OKX FTX has liability of $7 billion – OKX director

(This story from Nov. 9 has been refiled to correct hyphenation in headline)

HONG KONG (Reuters) – FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried has appealed for a $2 billion to $4 billion cash injection from OKX on Monday morning just prior to the announcement of the now collapsed acquisition mooted by arch rival Binance, said a senior executive at OKX.

The CEO of the troubled exchange had presented “a lot of urgency” in seeking that amount of cash injection during a call on November 8, as this would have helped FTX survive a short-term liquidity crisis, said Lennix Lai, director of financial markets at OKX.

The appeal for cash injection has come as FTX was facing a $7 billion total liability, said Lai, citing Bankman-Fried’s comment made in the call.

FTX has approached OKX for a deal as it needed to survive through a slew of withdrawal requests, Lai said, citing the several calls he had with Bankman-Fried on Nov. 8.

“If FTX does not get immediate cash injection, they would go bankrupt,” said Lai, he recalled their conversation during a later call at 7 a.m. Hong Kong time.

“Sam said he was talking with a few other potential investors, so he needed an urgent decison from us,” he said.

(Reporting by Georgina Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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FTX suspends onboarding of new clients

(Reuters) – FTX has suspended onboarding of all new clients until further notice, according to the cryptocurrency exchange’s website on Thursday.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)

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Robinhood has no direct exposure to FTX, says CEO

SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Broker Robinhood has no direct exposure to crypto exchange FTX, chief executive Vlad Tenev said on Twitter.

“Despite SBF having an equity stake in Robinhood, we have no direct exposure to Alameda, FTX, or any of its entities,” he wrote, referring to FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. He said there were elevated trading volumes recently and that the last couple of days were “our two biggest days of crypto inflows ever.”

He did not quantify the flows. Cryptocurrency markets have been sliding as uncertainty swirls around the fate of FTX.

(Reporting by Tom Westbrook; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

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Crypto exchange Kraken not affected by recent FTX news in ‘any material way’

(Reuters) – Cryptocurrency exchange Kraken said on Thursday it was not affected by the recent FTX news “in any material way,” and that it had no exposure to FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried’s trading firm Alameda Research.

“We have not listed the FTT token on our spot or futures exchanges, and Kraken is not affected by the recent FTX news in any material way,” Kraken said, adding that it held about 9,000 FTT tokens on the FTX exchange.

CEO Bankman-Fried told employees that he was exploring all options for his firm after a deal with cryptocurrency exchange Binance collapsed on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Shivani Tanna in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips)

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Crypto’s FTX CEO looking at all options as Binance deal collapses

By Hannah Lang and Angus Berwick

NEW YORK (Reuters) – FTX Chief Executive Officer Sam Bankman-Fried told employees he was exploring all options for his firm after a deal with cryptocurrency exchange Binance collapsed on Wednesday.

The proposed deal between Bankman-Fried and rival Binance Chief Executive Officer Changpeng Zhao of Binance had been the latest emergency rescue in the world of cryptocurrencies this year, as investors pulled out from riskier assets in the wake of rising interest rates. The cryptocurrency market has fallen by about two-thirds from its peak to $1.07 trillion.

“As a result of corporate due diligence, as well as the latest news reports regarding mishandled customer funds and alleged U.S. agency investigations, we have decided that we will not pursue the potential acquisition of FTX.com,” Binance said in a statement on Wednesday.

It leaves Bankman-Fried, 30, who had previously been throwing lifelines to other faltering digital asset platforms, with dwindling options himself.

“I’m working, as quickly as I can, on next steps here. I wish I could give you all more clarity than I can,” said Bankman-Fried, who is from California but lives in the Bahamas where FTX is based, in a message to FTX employees seen by Reuters.

Bankman-Fried, whose wealth was estimated at $17 billion as of September according to Forbes, had made billions arbitraging cryptocurrency prices in Asia beginning in 2017 before heading FTX.

Bankman-Fried said in the staff message his goals were to protect customers and provide any help he could for staff and investors.

“I’ll keep fighting for those (goals), as best as I can, as long as it’s correct for me to. I’m exploring all the options.”

Bankman-Fried also told employees that Binance had not previously expressed reservations about the deal.

“I’m deeply sorry that we got into this place, and for my role in it,” he wrote. “That’s on me, and me alone, and it sucks, and I’m sorry, not that it makes it any better.”

In a later message to staff, seen by Reuters and sent around 6pm Eastern Time (2300 GMT Wednesday), Bankman-Fried said: “I will post many more updates tonight, I promise.”

A representative for FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

FTX.com is also facing scrutiny from U.S. regulators over its handling of customer funds, as well as its crypto-lending activities. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating crypto exchange FTX.com’s handling of customer funds amid a liquidity crunch, as well its crypto-lending activities, a source with knowledge of the inquiry said on Wednesday. Bloomberg first reported the probe.

Bloomberg also reported that the Department of Justice (DOJ) is looking into the turmoil and officials are working with SEC. A DOJ spokesperson declined to comment on the Bloomberg report.

FTX’s woes are the latest sign of trouble in the fast-moving world of cryptocurrencies where prices have slumped this year as a broader downturn in financial markets prompted investors to ditch riskier assets.

After rapid growth in 2020 and 2021, bitcoin is down more than 60% in 2022 and was last off 13% on the day at $16,277.

FTT, the smaller token tied to FTX, was down a further 67%, after collapsing 72% on Tuesday.

Investors in FTX have been hurt by the turmoil. Sequoia Capital said while its exposure to FTX is limited, it marked its investment down to zero.

“It has been a truly a devastating year for the industry,” said Ryan Wong, a senior researcher at crypto exchange Huobi. Wong said the turmoil in the industry would “lead to massive distrust from the public towards centralized establishments.”

LIQUIDITY CRUNCH

Speculation about FTX’s financial health that started over the weekend snowballed into $6 billion of withdrawals in the 72 hours before Tuesday morning. Binance revealed a proposal to acquire the rival exchange’s non-U.S. assets on Tuesday.

The deal to cover a “liquidity crunch” was non-binding and subject to further due diligence, leading some investors and analysts to question if it would go ahead.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Bankman-Fried told investors he needs emergency funding to cover up to $8 billion of withdrawal requests, citing sources familiar with the situation. FTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Zhao earlier on Wednesday tweeted a letter to staff that there was no “master plan” behind the deal and that “FTX going down is not good for anyone in the industry” and is not a win.

Zhao also urged investors not to trade FTT tokens and to ignore the prices.

Binance had not been the only possible partner sought. Prior to the Binance proposed deal, Bankman-Fried approached cryptocurrency exchange OKX on Monday morning about a deal, but the exchange declined to move forward.

(Reporting by Hannah Lang and Angus Berwick; Selena Li, Tom Westbrook, Georgina Lee, Anshuman Daga and Vidya Ranganathan and Summer Zhen and Hannah Lang and Chris Prentice; editing by Megan Davies, Anna Driver and Shri Navaratnam)

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FTX needs emergency funding amid withdrawal requests – WSJ

(Reuters) – FTX Chief Executive Sam Bankman-Fried told investors on Wednesday that the cryptocurrency exchange needs an emergency funding to cover a shortfall of up to $8 billion due to withdrawal requests received in recent days, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.

FTX did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)

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U.S. securities regulator says crypto events underscore industry risks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The cryptocurrency industry events of the last few days highlight the risks in the industry of co-mingling of intermediary functions, the chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Wednesday.

“In our tie-tested public policy, we separate out these functions,” SEC Chair Gary Gensler said in remarks at a Healthy Markets Association event.

Concerns over the health of major cryptocurrency exchange FTX sent the cryptocurrency markets into a tailspin this week.

(Reporting by Chris Prentice; Editing by Chris Reese)

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Crypto exchange Gemini co-founder says no exposure to FTT, Alameda

(Reuters) – Gemini cofounder Cameron Winklevoss assured investors that the crypto exchange has no exposure to FTX, digital coin FTT and crypto trading platform Alameda, as a liquidity crunch at FTX sparks concerns of another crypto contagion.

FTX, which developed a penchant for bailing out troubled crypto firms, saw investors express concerns about its financial health that led its token FTT to shed another 50% on Wednesday after wiping out 72% a day earlier.

“For the avoidance of doubt, Gemini has no exposure to FTT tokens or Alameda and no material exposure to FTX,” Winklevoss wrote in a tweet on Wednesday.

Gemini joins cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc which also pacified investors on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)

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World stocks slip, await CPI, U.S. midterms outcome

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Reuters) – World stocks slid below recent seven-week highs and the dollar rose on Wednesday as investors awaited both the results of the U.S. mid-term elections and key data on consumer prices that could impact the Federal Reserve’s policy on interest rates.

Bitcoin, the biggest cryptocurrency by market value, fell 9.81% to $16,730.00 amid concerns about the stability of the sector after a “liquidity crunch” led major exchange FTX into a potential deal with rival Binance.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Binance would likely walk away from the deal, citing a source familiar with the situation.

Stocks in Europe and on Wall Street fell. Neither Democrats or Republicans were likely to gain control of both chambers of Congress, which muddied the outlook for fiscal spending and regulation.

“The market is going to get what it wants: it’s going to get divided government. It means gridlock is the agenda item for the next two years,” said Anthony Saglimbene, chief market strategist at Ameriprise Financial in Troy, Michigan.

“It’s not going to seriously alter spending, but it’s also going to block any material increases in spending,” he said.

Stock markets have tended to perform better under a split government when a Democrat is in the White House.

Average annual S&P 500 returns have been 14% in a split Congress and 13% in a Republican-controlled Congress under a Democratic president, according to data since 1932 analyzed by RBC Capital Markets. That compares with 10% when Democrats controlled both the presidency and Congress.

Asian shares edged up as the election results rolled in overnight. But MSCI’s all-country world index shed 1.41% and the pan-European STOXX 600 index closed down 0.30%.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.6%, the S&P 500 slid 1.74% and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.16%.

Post-midterm perfection for U.S. stocks https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-STOCKS/MIDTERMS/gdpzqrdoqvw/chart.png

Walt Disney tumbled 12.54% after the entertainment heavyweight reported more losses from its push into streaming video, while Meta Platforms Inc gained 5.70% after the Facebook parent said it would cut 13% of its workforce.

Investors cheered Meta’s decision to reduce spending, but a weak advertising market for the company points to a difficult economic outlook as the Fed hikes rates to tame high inflation.

Data on the U.S. consumer price index (CPI) is due on Thursday, with economists polled by Reuters forecasting a decline in both the monthly and yearly core numbers for October to 0.5% and 6.5%, respectively.

Many in the market believe the U.S. central bank can reduce its target lending rate if data shows inflation ebbing, but others see it moving “higher for longer” as Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated last week.

“I take Chairman Powell at his word. He’s been telling markets all along that he needs to raise rates, which suggests to me that there are a number of rate hikes still in the works from the Fed,” said Michael Arone, chief investment strategist at State Street Global Advisors in Boston.

“Clearly investors are hoping that the rate of inflation begins to roll over, and if that does not happen, I do think that causes some additional volatility in markets,” he said.

Federal fund futures show the Fed’s target rate will peak at 5.096% next June, indicating policymakers must hike rates by more than 125 basis points from their current 3.75%-4.0% range.

The euro was lower, down 0.65% to $1.0007, just off the $1.0096 hit overnight, its highest since Sept. 13.

The yen weakened 0.61% versus the dollar at 146.59, after weakening overnight to 145.17, its lowest level against the Japanese currency this month.

The yield on 10-year Treasury notes was up 2.3 basis points to 4.151%.

Oil prices sank after industry data showed U.S. crude stockpiles rose more than expected and on concerns a rebound in COVID-19 cases in top importer China would hurt fuel demand.

U.S. crude futures fell $3.08 to settle at $85.83 a barrel and Brent futures settled down $2.71 to $92.65.

Gold dipped as an uptick in the dollar nudged bullion prices off a more than one-month high.

U.S. gold futures settled 0.1% lower at $1,713.70.

(Reporting by Herbert Lash, additional eporting by Dhara Ranasinghe, Nell Mackenzie and Lucy Raitano in London, Ankur Banerjee in Singapore; Editing by Toby Chopra, Bernadette Baum, Deepa Babington and Alex Richardson)