RPT-COLUMN-Hedge fund bearishness on U.S. Treasuries nears extreme levels: McGeever

Repeats for U.S. readership, no change to text.

By Jamie McGeever

ORLANDO, Fla., Sept 5 (Reuters) – Hedge funds continue to up their bets on higher U.S. bond yields but there are signs that the size of this collective wager and the pace at which it has been built are reaching extreme levels.

What has been a highly lucrative trade this year could be about to run out of steam.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission report for the week to Aug. 30 is the first snapshot of speculators’ positioning after Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s affirmation in Jackson Hole of policymakers’ commitment to do whatever it takes to get inflation back down towards target.

The latest CFTC report shows funds increased bearish bets on Treasuries across the curve.

They increased net short position in two-year futures to 281,600 contracts from 241,143 contracts, the biggest bearish bet on two-year bonds since April last year.

A closer look at the data shows the historic significance of the recent move. Funds have added to that short position for six consecutive weeks, the most bearish streak in four years, and the increase of almost 200,000 contracts in August was the second biggest bearish monthly swing on record.

A short position is essentially a wager that an asset’s price will fall, and a long position is a bet it will rise. In bonds and rates, yields fall when prices rise, and move up when prices fall.

BOND BEAR MARKET

Funds’ are now net short five-year Treasuries futures to the tune of 565,456 contracts, the largest net short since November 2018. Back then, funds were undertaking a powerful short-covering rally and the Fed was about to bring its rate-hiking campaign and quantitative tightening program to an end.

Similarly, this marks the sixth straight week of funds adding to short position – the most bearish streak in four years – and the monthly increase of 250,000 contracts was the third most bearish shift since these contracts were launched in the late 1980s.

Funds expanded their net short position in the 10-year space to 440,103 contracts, the largest since April.

Yields rose across the curve, with the two-year yield scaling 3.50% for the first time since 2007.

But there are three reasons to believe a turnaround could be imminent: the pace with which funds have amassed these short positions is unsustainable; bonds are becoming attractively cheap; and economic data suggest inflationary pressures are easing.

The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index .BCUSA is down 12.5% from its highs, more than double any previous peak-to-trough decline going back to the 1970s. Global bonds are down 20% from their peak for the first time ever. nL1N3090S0

Analysts at Goldman Sachs reckon the latest U.S. jobs data will signal a pause to the “upward repricing” of U.S. interest rates, and Morgan Stanley says the recent low in Treasuries will be a turning point “in view of the Fed’s aggressive action that has yet to fully play out in the real economy.”

(By Jamie McGeever; Editing by Sam Holmes)

((jamie.mcgeever@thomsonreuters.com; +1 (407) 288-5607; Reuters Messaging: jamie.mcgeever.reuters.com@reuters.net))

Inflation—the only game in town

A look at the day ahead in European and global markets from Anshuman Daga

With just a week to go before the European Central Bank (ECB) meets, inflation data takes center stage for investors.

But will that really change market consensus that big rate hikes are coming? Unlikely.

A spate of inflation data from Germany and Spain might set the tone for the region today, ahead of euro zone numbers due on Wednesday.

Though Fed Chair Jerome Powell clearly cautioned against expecting a swift undoing of its rate tightening sending markets in a tailspin, Rabobank points out that one of the biggest sea-changes at Jackson Hole was actually in the stance from Europe.

Euro zone money markets are now pricing in a two-thirds chance of a 75 basis-point rate hike that sent Germany’s two-year bond yield to two-month highs on Monday before settling lower.

Expectations of an outsized rate hike comforted the euro, while the dollar languished on Tuesday after retreating from a two-decade high against major peers. Stocks recovered in Asia from early declines.

In a sign of the difficult choices facing central banks, ECB’s chief economist Philip Lane struck a somewhat dovish tone, saying the ECB should raise interest rates at a “steady pace” until the end of its hiking cycle.

He said this was partly to retain room to correct the policy path if circumstances change.
The comments come just after other ECB board member Isabel Schnabel said on Saturday that central banks must tighten policy even into a recession to combat inflation.

And as the energy crisis puts pressure on governments and regulators, the European Union’s energy ministers are set to hold emergency talks on Sept. 9 to seek a response to rocketing gas and electricity prices.

Meanwhile, Dutch railway workers will strike across the country on Tuesday, bringing trains to a halt due to an escalating wage dispute.

Key developments that could influence markets on Tuesday:

Economic data: German and Spanish CPIs, Austria PPI, Swedish consumer confidence

Speakers: Norwegian Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum gives a speech on the state of the economy, Governor of Riksbank Stefan Ingves participates in a panel discussion on inflation.

(Reporting by Anshuman Daga; Editing by Sam Holmes)

Gold slips as dollar firms, Fed rate hike jitters persist

Aug 30 (Reuters) – Gold slipped on Tuesday as the dollar strengthened, while prospects of elevated US interest rates for a longer period also weighed on the non-yielding bullion’s appeal.

Spot gold fell 0.2% to USD 1,734.59 per ounce by 0400 GMT, having hit a one-month low of USD 1,719.56 in the previous session.

US gold futures dipped 0.1% to USD 1,747.60.

The dollar index rose 0.1%, after easing off a two-decade peak hit on Monday.

Gold will continue to be driven by sentiment in the dollar in the short term, said Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management.

“The market’s in a wait-and-see mode to see how the economic data plays out and if it starts to get bad in the US I think that’s going to encourage the gold bulls to come back into the fray again,” Innes added.

At the Jackson Hole central banking conference in Wyoming the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank struck a hawkish note, pledging all efforts to tame stubbornly high inflation even if growth takes a hit.

While gold is considered a safe bet during economic uncertainty, interest-rate hikes increase the opportunity cost of holding the bullion.

Markets are now largely pricing in a 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting.

Indicative of investor sentiment, holdings in SPDR Gold Trust GLD, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.4% to 980.61 tonnes on Monday.

Spot gold may retest a resistance at USD 1,742 per ounce, a break above which could lead to a gain into a USD 1,748-USD 1,755 range, according to Reuters technical analyst Wang Tao.

Spot silver fell 0.4% to USD 18.66 per ounce, platinum shed 0.8% to USD 857.35 and palladium rose 0.3% to USD 2,152.14.

(Reporting by Eileen Soreng in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich and Uttaresh.V)

Oil edges down as inflation expected to impact fuel demand

Aug 30 (Reuters) – Oil prices dipped on Tuesday, paring some gains from the previous session, as the market feared that more aggressive interest rates hikes from central banks may lead to a global economic slowdown and soften fuel demand.

Brent crude futures for October settlement dropped 81 cents, or 0.7%, to USD 104.28 a barrel by 0359 GMT after climbing 4.1% on Monday, the biggest increase in more than a month.

The October contract expires on Wednesday and the more active November contract was at USD 102.33, down 0.6%.

US West Texas Intermediate crude was at USD 96.68 a barrel, down 33 cents, or 0.3%, following a 4.2% rise in the previous session.

Inflation is near double-digit territory in many of the world’s biggest economies, a level not seen in close to a half century, which could prompt central banks in the United States and Europe to resort to more aggressive interest rate hikes.

“Risk appetite has cooled over an anticipation that the Federal Reserve would continue to increase interest rates…A pull-back of natural gas prices in Europe also adds uncertainties to the picture of energy crisis,” said analysts from Haitong Futures.

Also weighing on prices, Russia’s oil output has exceeded expectations in the wake of the war in Ukraine, the head of the International Energy Agency (IEA) said on Monday. But he said that Moscow, which calls its actions in Ukraine “a special operation”, will find it increasingly difficult to uphold production as Western sanctions begin to bite.

IEA members nations could release more oil from strategic petroleum reserves (SPR) if they find it necessary when the current scheme expires, the head of the agency also said.

However, political violence on Monday night in Iraq, OPEC’s second-largest producer, supported prices.

Government security forces and militias loyal to Shi’ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr clashed around the Green Zone that houses government headquarters and embassies in the capital Baghdad, killing 20, in a long-running dispute over the formation of a new government since elections last year.

“As a major oil exporter with an output of over 4 million barrels per day, (Iraq’s) domestic situation has no less impact on oil prices than Iran,” Haitong’s analysts said.

Also offering some support to prices is tight supply. Saudi Arabia, top producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), last week raised the possibility of production cuts, which sources said could coincide with a boost in supply from Iran should it clinch a nuclear deal with the West.

OPEC+, comprising OPEC, Russia and allied producers, meets to set policy on Sept. 5.

The American Petroleum Institute, an industry group, is due to release data on US crude inventories on Tuesday with the Energy Information Administration, the statistical arm of the US Department of Energy, to follow on Wednesday.

US crude oil stockpiles likely fell 600,000 barrels with distillates and gasoline inventories also seen down, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday.

(Reporting by Arathy Somasekhar and Muyu Xu; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell and Christian Schmollinger)

Stocks, bonds fumble for footing as focus turns to payrolls

HONG KONG, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Stock and bond markets attempted to steady on Tuesday, as investors turned their focus to this week’s US labour market report, to gauge if interest rate hikes that have been priced in around the world are justified.

By mid-morning, MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan was down 0.4%, while Japan’s Nikkei stock index rose nearly 1%, in part helped by a fresh round of weakness in the Japanese yen.

Wall Street indexes fell on Monday, but the pace of selling was reduced and US stock futures ESc1 were steady in Asia.

Besides interest rates, the health of China’s economy is also at the forefront of investor concerns. China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.4% in early trade.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index fell 1.8% as investors start to walk back their enthusiasm about an agreement struck between China and the United States for access to Chinese companies audit papers.

At the Jackson Hole conference last week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell and European Central Bank speakers struck a hawkish tone, driving selling of bonds and equities as traders jacked up near-term interest rate expectations.

“The markets focus for the next couple of weeks at least, will be the likely Fed action,” said Manishi Raychaudhuri, head of APAC equity research at BNP Paribas.

“Earlier, there was talk of a pivot of a possible cutting of interest rates by the Fed, maybe in 2023 second half or so, but that is now sort of falling by the wayside,” he said.

“Higher for longer (interest rate) is possibly the kind of narrative that’s building up,” he said.

Futures markets have odds of better than two-thirds that the ECB raises rates by 75 basis points in September, and see about a 70% chance that the Fed does likewise.

US non-farm payrolls data is due on Friday, and markets may not like a strong number if it supports the basis for a continuation of aggressive interest rate hikes.

US Treasuries settled down on Tuesday morning. The two-year yield fell to 3.4293%, after rising as high as 3.489% on Monday, its highest since late 2007.

Benchmark 10-year yields also fell to 3.0949%, down from 3.13% on Monday.

The US dollar steadied after an overnight dip, though the euro was already struggling to hang on to small gains driven by ECB hike bets and a cooling of gas prices.

The dollar index =USD, which measures the currency’s value against a basket of peers, rose 0.2% to 108.85, not far from the two-decade peak of 109.48 it made a day earlier. The dollar traded at USD 0.9987 per euro and bought 138.59 yen.

Oil mostly held gains on the prospect of output cuts, as traders look ahead to a producers meeting on Sept. 5. US crude was about 30 cents a barrel weaker at USD 96.68 and Brent crude fell 68 cents to USD 104.41.

Gold was slightly lower. Spot gold was traded at USD 1,735.95 per ounce.

(Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Dollar sags below 20-year peak as euro lifted by ECB bets

TOKYO, Aug 30 (Reuters) – The dollar languished on Tuesday after being beaten back from a two-decade high versus major peers by a reinvigorated euro.

The tables turned for the two currencies as traders began ramping up bets for a super-sized 75 basis-point rate hike by the European Central Bank, while paring the odds for one by the US Federal Reserve.

The dollar index – which measures the greenback against a basket of six currencies, with the euro the most heavily weighted – stood at 108.65 at the start of the Asian day, after dropping back from 109.48 overnight, a level not seen since September 2002.

The euro edged 0.08% higher to USD 1.00045, extending Monday’s 0.32% rally – which was its biggest in almost three weeks – after failing to keep its head above parity for the past week.

“The euro has found some stability near parity with help from reports that a 75bp hike could be on the cards at the September ECB meeting,” said Sean Callow, a currency strategist at Westpac in Sydney.

“But the euro’s yields remain unappetizing and the deepening gas crisis in Europe means that more aggressive ECB hikes would only deepen recession. We expect EUR/USD to print fresh 20-year lows in coming days, with 0.98 the next obvious target.”

Traders see better than 50% odds for a 75 bps move by the ECB on Sept. 8 after a parade of ECB speakers at the Fed’s annual symposium in Jackson Hole backed the case for a big hike.

By comparison, bets for a 75 bps increase by the Fed on Sept. 21, while higher at 70%, have receded from as much as 75% on Monday.

Monthly US jobs figures due on Friday will be closely watched for further clues on the rates outlook.

The euro was also helped by a retreat in European gas prices after German economy minister Robert Habbeck said the country was filling gas storage facilities faster than expected.

The dollar slid 0.17% to 138.505 yen, after rising to 139 overnight for the first time since mid-July.

Sterling added 0.1% to USD 1.17175, recovering from an almost 2-1/2-year low of USD 1.16495 reached on Monday.

The Aussie edged 0.04% higher to USD 0.69125, bouncing from USD 0.6841 in the previous session, a six-week low.

(Reporting by Kevin Buckland; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)

Wall Street retreats as rate hike concerns persist

NEW YORK, Aug 29 (Reuters) – US stocks closed lower on Monday, adding to last week’s sharp losses on nagging concerns about the Federal Reserve’s determination to aggressively hike interest rates to fight inflation even as the economy slows.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday the US economy would need tight monetary policy “for some time” before inflation is under control, dashing hopes the Fed might pivot to more subdued rate hikes after recent data suggested price pressures were peaking.

The S&P 500 recovered from session lows that put it down 1% at the lowest in a month, but the benchmark index still notched its biggest two-day percentage decline in 2-1/2 months.

“Friday’s selloff was frankly overdone, I know (Powell) said he was going to play tough with inflation but it is honestly not that much different than what he has been saying for the last several weeks, he was a little more hawkish but I mean, geez, who is surprised by that, really?” said Randy Frederick, vice president of trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

“I don’t see a whole lot of up or downside here in the near term, I see a lot of volatility and that is probably going to be the case at the very least until we get past the September 21 rate hike.”

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 184.41 points, or 0.57%, to 32,098.99, the S&P 500 lost 27.05 points, or 0.67%, to 4,030.61 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 124.04 points, or 1.02%, to 12,017.67.

Megacap technology and growth stocks such as Apple Inc. (AAPL), off 1.37%, and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), down 1.07% were among the biggest drags on the index as Treasury yields rose.

The CBOE’s volatility index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit a seven-week high of 27.67 points.

Money market traders are pricing in a 72.5% chance of a 75-basis-point interest rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting, which would be the third straight hike of that magnitude. They expect the Fed funds rate to end the year at about 3.7%.

The two-year Treasury yield, which is particularly sensitive to interest rate expectations, briefly touched a 15-year high, while the closely watched yield curve measured by the gap between two and 10-year yields remained firmly inverted.

An inversion is considered by many to be a reliable signal of a looming recession.

Economic data this week is highlighted by the August nonfarm payrolls report due on Friday. Any signs of a slowdown in the labor market might take pressure off the Fed to continue with outsized rate hikes.

The S&P 500 climbed nearly 11% since mid-June through Friday’s close. It recently found support just above its 50-day moving average, although it remains well below its 200-day moving average. Despite the rebound, some investors remain worried as September approaches due to the historical weakness for stocks during the month and the anticipated hike from the Fed.

Energy stocks, up 1.54%, were a bright spot as crude prices jumped about 4% on possible OPEC+ output cuts and conflict in Libya.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) slid 6.24% after its drug candidate for preventing ischemia strokes missed the main goal in a mid-stage trial.

Volume on US exchanges was 9.36 billion shares, compared with the 10.59 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by a 2.19-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 2.20-to-1 ratio favored decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 2 new 52-week highs and 22 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 28 new highs and 199 new lows.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Cynthia Osterman and David Gregorio)

Wall Street extends losses on rate hike worries

Aug 29 (Reuters) – US stock indexes fell on Monday, adding to a sharp selloff last week as investors worried about the Federal Reserve’s plan to keep raising interest rates in its fight against inflation even at the cost of an economic slowdown.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said on Friday that the US economy would need tight monetary policy “for some time” before inflation is under control, quashing hopes of more modest rate hikes after recent data suggested price pressures were peaking.

“Investors are coming to terms with the idea that the Fed is serious about curbing inflation,” Rod von Lipsey, managing director at UBS Private Wealth Management, said in a note.

“We believe the economic data justifies a 50 or 75 basis point rate hike at the September meeting, with the potential for additional 25 or 50 basis point rate hikes at the November and December meetings to stay ahead of inflationary trends.”

Money market traders are pricing in a 64.5% chance of a third straight 75-basis-point interest rate hike in September and expect the Fed funds rate to end the year at around 3.7%.

Heavyweight technology and growth stocks such as Apple Inc. (AAPL), Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Tesla Inc. (TSLA) were down between 1.1% and 1.5%, hit by rising US Treasury yields.

The US two-year Treasury yield, which is particularly sensitive to interest rate expectations, briefly scaled a 15-year high, while the closely watched yield curve measured by the gap between two and 10-year yields remained strongly inverted.

An inversion is seen by many as a reliable signal of an impending recession.

At 10:13 a.m. ET, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 214.13 points, or 0.66%, at 32,069.27, the S&P 500 was down 20.78 points, or 0.51%, at 4,036.88, and the Nasdaq Composite was down 69.95 points, or 0.58%, at 12,071.77.

The CBOE’s volatility index, Wall Street’s fear gauge, hit a seven-week high of 26.92 points.

The benchmark S&P 500 index has climbed nearly 11% since mid-June but is still in a bear market after plummeting early this year. Some investors fear a tough September due to seasonal weakness and nervousness about the economic pain from interest rate hikes.

“We went from the Powell ‘put’ in June to the Powell ‘put down’ in August. So the market that had rallied on his guidance from June had to pull that rally back out,” said David Waddell, chief investment strategist at Waddell & Associates.

“The market is a trader’s paradise right now … the economic backdrop has to prove a reason to be optimistic. Until then the traders are just going to vacillate between optimism and pessimism based upon what the Fed says.”

Energy stocks climbed 2.5%, tracking a more than 2% jump in oil prices as potential OPEC+ output cuts and conflict in Libya helped to offset a strong US dollar.

Bristol Myers Squibb (BMY) slid 6.2% after its drug candidate for preventing ischemia strokes missed the main goal in a mid-stage trial.

Dow Inc. (DOW) and Lyondell Basell Industries (LYB) fell 1.9% and 1.5%, respectively, after Keybanc downgraded the chemicals company’s stocks to “underweight” from “sector weight”.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers for a 2.16-to-1 ratio on the NYSE and for a 1.89-to-1 ratio on the Nasdaq.

The S&P index recorded 2 new 52-week highs and 20 new lows, while the Nasdaq recorded 11 new highs and 131 new lows.

(Reporting by Devik Jain and Anisha Sircar in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)

Gold recovers from one-month low as US dollar backtracks

Aug 29 (Reuters) – Gold prices reversed course to trade higher on Monday as a dollar rally lost its steam, having pushed bullion to one-month lows earlier in the session after the US Federal Reserve signalled higher interest rates.

Spot gold rose 0.3% to USD 1,742.83 per ounce by 10:09 a.m. ET (1409 GMT). Prices touched their lowest since July 27 at USD 1,719.56 earlier in the session.

US gold futures up 0.2% to USD 1,752.90.

“Gold sold-off after Powell’s speech and right now the uptick is due to pure bargain hunting as well a pull-back in dollar… Gold will soon start trading in a small range till further clues from the Fed,” said Bob Haberkorn, senior market strategist at RJO Futures.

The dollar fell 0.2%, slightly easing off two-decade highs, making gold less expensive for other currency holders.

In a speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell said Fed will raise rates as high as needed to curb inflation.

Market participants are now largely pricing in a 75-basis-point rate hike at the Fed’s September meeting.

Gold is considered an inflation hedge, but the non-yielding asset’s appeal dims amid high-interest rate environment.

“Gold bulls’ upside price objective is to make a form above solid resistance at USD 1,800 and bears’ near-term downside price objective is pushing futures prices below solid technical support at USD 1,700,” said Jim Wyckoff, senior analyst at Kitco Metals.

Capping gains in gold, benchmark US Treasury yields were higher for the day.

“The US is headed into a recession, Fed can’t be aggressive then; once the market gets further confirmation on that, gold will start to rise,” Haberkorn added.

Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs slashed British growth forecast and expects a recession to begin later in the year.

Spot silver fell 0.5% to USD 18.79 per ounce, and platinum rose 0.6% to USD 868.80.

Palladium rose 1.1% to USD 2,133.33.

(Reporting by Ashitha Shivaprasad in Bengaluru; Editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri)

Dollar zooms higher as markets brace for higher-for-longer rates

LONDON, Aug 29 (Reuters) – The dollar shot higher on Monday, briefly scaling fresh 20-year highs against a basket of other currencies, as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled interest rates would be kept higher for longer to bring down uncomfortably high inflation.

The dollar index, which measures the currency’s value against a basket of peers, scaled a fresh two-decade peak of 109.48 before retreating as the European session wore on.

It held around 0.65% firmer against Japan’s yen, while China’s yuan breached the key threshold of 6.9 per dollar and Britain’s pound hit a fresh 2-1/2 year low.

The euro managed to claw back some ground and was last up 0.3% at USD 0.9992 as hawkish European Central Bank comments lifted expectations for a supersized September rate hike.

A comment by German Economy Minister Robert Habeck that he expects gas prices to fall soon, with Germany making progress on its storage targets, may also have supported the euro.

London markets were closed for a public holiday.

Powell told the Jackson Hole central banking conference in Wyoming on Friday that the Fed would raise rates as high as needed to restrict growth, and would keep them there “for some time” to bring down inflation that is running at more than three times the Fed’s 2% goal.

“Powell’s comments endorsed the pricing of a higher Fed funds rate for a longer period,” said Kenneth Broux, a currency strategist at Societe Generale. “The assumption that the Fed would start cutting rates in mid-2023 is premature.”

Money markets ramped up bets for a more aggressive Fed rate hike in September, with the chances of a 75 basis point hike now seen around 70%. US Treasury yields shot up, with two-year bond yields hitting a 15-year high at around 3.49%, bolstering the greenback.

The dollar was up 0.65% at 138.52 yen, having hit its highest since July 21.

The onshore yuan finished domestic trade at 6.9210 per dollar, the weakest close since Aug. 20, 2020, while the offshore yuan fell to a fresh two-year low of 6.9325 per dollar.

Sterling fell to a 2-1/2-year low of USD 1.1649 and was last down 0.3% at USD 1.1698.

Expectations for a supersized September rate hike in the euro area also rose. ECB board member Isabel Schnabel warned on Saturday that central banks risk losing public trust and must act forcefully to curb inflation, even if that drags their economies into a recession.

“Central banks have no interest in being anything but hawkish right now, given inflation, so they will hike rates aggressively,” said Nordea chief analyst Jan von Gerich.

As risk-off sentiment gripped world markets, the Aussie dollar fell to USD 0.6838, the lowest since July 19, while the kiwi hit its lowest since mid-July at USD 0.61.

In cryptocurrencies, bitcoin recovered some ground but remained below the USD 20,000 level it dipped below at the weekend.

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Additional reporting by Rae Wee in Singapore; Editing by Christina Fincher, Jan Harvey and Nick Macfie)

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