Hey 👋
Stocks, bitcoin and the rand all reacted to the same headline.
On Wednesday, the US Treasury said it was doubling its long-term bond buybacks. Yields pulled back hard. And everything built on top of them followed.
Bitcoin had its best week in over two years. Up 22%. Closing above $77,000. The S&P 500 clawed back its losses after a rough stretch. And the rand slipped below R16 to the dollar, erasing the ground it lost during the Iran conflict spike.
But here's the thing. Oil didn't get the memo. Brent's still sitting near $94, up for a second straight week, with Strait of Hormuz flows still a fraction of normal. That's the number actually feeding into SA inflation, not the bond market cheer.
So if you're watching rates, the rand tells the story. If you're watching costs, the oil price does. Right now, they're pulling in different directions.
We asked a few weeks back whether bitcoin's long winter had arrived. Turns out winter got cancelled, at least for this week.
Talk soon,
80eight Team
