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Tuesday, August 18, 2026
What’s happening: Bitcoin prices traded higher this morning, surging past the key resistance level of $64,000.
What happened: Bitcoin rebounded after a late-week pullback, with the overall crypto market hovering in a narrow range.
The world’s largest digital asset moved higher ahead of the release of the Federal Reserve’s minutes.
Why it matters: US spot Bitcoin ETFs (exchange-traded funds) recorded combined net outflows of around $390 million across the trading sessions between August 10 and August 14. Meanwhile, spot Ethereum ETFs recorded weekly net outflows of $2.26 million. The latest trends signalled a sharp change from the previous week, when Bitcoin ETFs attracted inflows of $853.5 million across five trading sessions.
The latest economic reports from the US, including softer inflation data, exerted pressure on the crypto market last week.
US inflation eased to 3.4% in July, down 10 basis points from the previous month’s reading. However, the latest reading was still higher than the Fed’s target rate of 2%. During the latest Fed meeting, three governors disagreed with the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates.
Recent economic data dampened speculations of the US central bank hiking interest rates this year.
Investors also continued monitoring developments in the US-Iran war after prospects of a new deal dimmed after President Donald Trump said that he was no longer interested in extending the date to reach the peace agreement, which technically expired on Monday.
Weakness in the US dollar lent support to cryptocurrencies as a higher greenback makes digital assets cheaper for foreign currency holders. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.1% to 99.60, trading near two-month lows.
Bitcoin rose 1.3% to trade at $64,133.48 this morning, while Ethereum slipped 0.1% to $1,898.15.
What to watch: Investors will keep an eye on the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting, due to be released on Wednesday. A White House meeting with crypto industry leaders will also remain in focus.
Developments in the US-Iran situation will also remain in focus, with talks between the two countries to resolve the conflict having stalled.
Context: The Australian dollar gained versus the US dollar this morning as investors assessed the latest economic reports.
Details: Data released this morning showed Australia’s Westpac–Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index surged 6.0% to a reading of 88.9 in August, up from a 4.1% gain in the previous month. This marked the fastest rise since November 2025.
The overall market sentiment improved with mortgage holders becoming less concerned about further interest rate hikes.
The overall gains for the Australian dollar remained in check by a rise in crude oil prices, which stoked inflation concerns, after the ceasefire between the US and Iran ended and President Donald Trump threatened to bomb Oman if the nation “gets in the way” of trying to make a deal with Tehran.
Weakness in the US dollar provided a boost to the Australian currency this morning. The US dollar index, which measures the greenback’s performance versus a basket of major peers, fell around 0.1% to 99.60.
The AUD/USD forex pair gained around 0.1% to reach 0.7111 this morning, while the S&P/ASX 200 rose more than 0.1% to 9,086.20, after four sessions of weakness.
What to watch: Investors await the release of economic data on wage price index on Wednesday. Australia’s wage price index, which surged 3.3% year-over-year in the first quarter, is expected to rise by 3.2% in the second quarter.
Data on Australia’s employment, scheduled for release on Thursday, will also remain in focus. Employment in Australia, which surged by 76,300 to a record high of 14.82 million in June, is expected to rise by 15,000 jobs in July. Analysts expect Australia’s unemployment rate to remain unchanged from the previous month at 4.4% in July.
Other Markets: US trading indices closed lower on Monday, with the Dow Jones index, S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 down by 0.51%, 0.52% and 0.17%, respectively.
Ukraine announced an attack on Russia’s rocket fuel plant in the Rostov region after launching the biggest drone attack of the year. The news sent the USD/RUB pair higher in forex trading this morning.
India’s unemployment rate eased to 5.1% in July from 5.5% in the previous month, exerting slight pressure on the USD/INR forex pair.
Peru’s economy grew by 1.75% year-over-year in June, easing from 1.8% in the previous month. The latest reading being the weakest expansion since November 2025 sent the USD/PEN pair higher in forex trading this morning.
Turkey’s central government budget recorded a deficit of TRY 378.1 billion in July, up from a TRY 23.9 billion gap in the year-ago, which lent support to the USD/TRY forex pair.
Canada’s headline inflation rate rose to 2.9% in July from 2.8% in June. However, the USD/CAD pair fell in forex trading this morning.
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