MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan ticked up 0.45% while Japan’s Nikkei rose 0.4% to a 30-year high. Oil prices soared to their highest in about 13 months as a US winter storm added fuel to their rally on hopes of further demand recovery. Rising oil prices supported commodity-linked currencies such as the Canadian dollar while safe-haven currencies including the US dollar took a back seat. MSCI’s emerging market currency index hit a record high as well. In Asia, Bitcoin was trading at $48,088.28, off its record high of $49,715 hit on Sunday.

Source: bd News24 February 16, 2021 02:26 UTC