Bitcoin rebounded 4% on Mar, 7 as markets shook off disappointment over the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.

BTC/USD 1-day chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

“Bitcoin always overreacts on news, both up and down,” he contended.

BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: Cointelegraph/TradingView

The latest data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool shows 11% odds of a cut at the Fed’s March meeting, with these much higher for its May meeting — almost 50%.

Fed target rate probability changes. Source: CME Group

Source: Cointelegraph

Above: Pound-to-Canadian Dollar at 15-minute intervals.

Source: Poundsterlinglive

Source: Euronews

The United States is planning to charge fees for docking at US ports on any ship that is part of a fleet that includes Chinese-built or Chinese-flagged vessels and will push allies to act similarly or face retaliation, a draft executive order stated.

The administration of US President Donald Trump is drafting the executive order in a bid to resuscitate domestic shipbuilding and weaken China's grip on the global shipping industry.

Addressing China's growing dominance of the seas and diminishing US naval readiness is a rare point of consensus between US Republican and Democratic lawmakers.

Chinese shipbuilders account for more than 50% of all merchant vessel cargo capacity produced globally each year, up from just 5% in 1999, according to the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That gain came at the expense of shipbuilders in Japan and South Korea. US shipbuilding peaked in the 1970s and now accounts for a sliver of the industry output.

The draft executive order, dated February 27 and reviewed by Reuters on Thursday, proposes fees should be imposed on any vessel that enters a US port, "regardless of where it was built or flagged, if that vessel is part of a fleet that includes vessels built or flagged in the PRC (People's Republic of China)."

The US administration and Chinese officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The document draws from a US Trade Representative's office proposal last month to levy fees of up to US$1.5 million on Chinese-built vessels entering US ports after a probe into China's growing domination of global shipbuilding, maritime and logistics sectors.

A key difference is that the draft executive order does not include USTR language stating that port fees on fleets would be imposed when Chinese-built ships account for 25% or more of vessels operating, slated for delivery or on order.

It also did not put a dollar value on those fees or say how they would be calculated.

The plan could inflict significant costs on major container carriers including China's COSCO, Switzerland's MSC, Denmark's Maersk and Taiwan's Evergreen Marine as well as on operators of ships that carry bulk food, fuel and autos.

MSC CEO Soren Toft said earlier this week the world's largest container carrier could visit fewer US ports to limit its exposure to the new fees.

Retaliation threat

The draft executive order also calls on US officials to engage allies and partners to enact similar measures or risk retaliation.

The US would also impose tariffs on Chinese cargo-handling equipment, according to the draft order.

"The national security and economic prosperity of the United States is further endangered by the People's Republic of China's unfair trade practices in the maritime, logistics, and shipbuilding sectors," the draft order said.

Reuters had reported on Wednesday on plans to impose fees on imports arriving on Chinese-made ships from a draft fact sheet of the 18-point executive order.

French carrier CMA CGM said on Thursday it would spend the next four years expanding its US-flagged American President Lines fleet to 30 from 10 currently.

CMA CGM is the world's third-largest container shipping line and is part of a vessel-sharing alliance with companies

including COSCO. It counts global retailer Walmart as a top customer and last week said the proposed US port fees on China-built ships would affect all shipping firms.

Source: Theedgemarkets

Oil prices gained on Friday but were set for their biggest weekly decline since October as the uncertainty around US tariff policy is creating concerns about demand growth at the same time major producers are set to increase output.

Brent futures rose 50 cents, or 0.72%, to US$69.96 a barrel by 0746 GMT. US West Texas Intermediate futures rose 47 cents, or 0.71%, to US$66.83 a barrel.

However, for the week Brent is down 4.9%, set for its biggest weekly decline since the week of October 14. WTI is set to drop 4.8%, also its biggest weekly fall since that week.

Markets, including oil, have been whipsawed by fluctuating trade policy in the US, the world's biggest oil consumer.

"It looks like the financial markets are in full panic mode, no longer easily pacified by Trump’s one-month postponements and exemptions on import tariffs," said Vandana Hari, founder of oil market analysis provider Vanda Insights.

"That leaves crude stuck around four-month lows, albeit vulnerable to further slides," she added.

On Thursday, US President Donald Trump suspended the 25% tariffs he had imposed on most goods from Canada and Mexico until April 2, although steel and aluminium tariffs would still go into effect on March 12 as scheduled.

The amended order does not fully cover Canadian energy products, which are under a separate 10% levy.

The tariffs themselves are considered a drag on economic growth and therefore oil demand growth. But the uncertainty over the policy is also slowing business decisions, which is also impacting the economy.

"The risks to oil prices remain tilted to the downside with new supply from Opec+ and non-Opec producers expected to push the market well into an oversupply," Fitch's research unit, BMI, said in a note.

Brent prices on Wednesday fell to their lowest since December 2021 after US crude inventories rose and in the wake of the decision by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies, known as Opec+, to increase their output quotas.

The group said on Monday that it had decided to proceed with a planned April output increase, adding 138,000 barrels per day to the market.

Some of the downward momentum in prices has eased as the US is looking at steps to halt exports from key Opec producer Iran.

"We are going to shut down Iran's oil sector and drone manufacturing capabilities," US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his first major speech to Wall Street executives.

Reuters reported on Thursday that Trump is considering a plan to inspect Iranian oil tankers at sea using an accord aimed at weapons of mass destruction, according to sources, part of the US president's "maximum pressure" to drive Iranian oil exports down to zero.

Source: Theedgemarkets