The Telegraph
Bitcoin recovers after crypto selloff abates
Inflation more than doubles to 1.5pc in April FTSE 100 drops below 7,000 benchmark, down 1.5pc Bitcoin shed as much as 30pc as major sell off grips cryptocurrencies Bitcoin price crash: should you sell your cryptocurrency? Shortage of workers threatens recovery as economy reopens Sign up here for our daily business briefing newsletter Bitcoin crashed by as much as 30pc today after China banned financial services firms from providing cryptocurrency services, dragging down other major cryptocurrencies at the same time. It has rebounded after approaching $30,000, a level not seen since January, and well below its April high of $65,000. The downturn quickly infected other cryptocurrencies, with Ethereum sinking by over 36pc and Dogecoin tumbling an even greater 41.5pc. In the UK, mining stocks dragged down blue-chips on a jittery day for London’s markets sparked by weaker commodity prices and worries over inflation. Commodities dropped after Chinese authorities suggested a curb on price increases, causing investors to flee their holdings in the sector. Anglo American led the sell-off as the worst performer on the benchmark, with losses of 156p to £31.54. It was followed by fellow miner BHP, which fell by 102.5p to £21.38, and Antofagasta, which lost 55.5p to close at £15.58. Rio Tinto shed 211p and fell to £60.39, and Glencore dropped 10.8p to 313.8p. It added to a wider market retreat as inflation concerns continued to infect trader confidence. Danni Hewson, a financial analyst at AJ Bell, said that a decision by Iceland to hike interest rates will have done nothing to soothe shareholders’ nerves. She added: “UK inflation figures will have prompted some investors to take a long look at their portfolios. “Jittery nicely sums up how UK markets have performed today, and all finished firmly in negative territory.” Fresh figures yesterday showed that Inflation more than doubled in April as higher energy bills pushed up the cost of living. Investors were also worried that shortages in supply chains and of workers could threaten the country’s economic recovery. Oil majors also fell as the price of crude continues to rise. Royal Dutch Shell joined miners in the top 10 worst performers, losing 37.8p to £13.24, while BP dropped 8.5p to 308.4p. The FTSE 100 lost 84.04 points to close at 6,950.20, with just 17 of its 101 constituents ending in the green. The FTSE 250 shed 98.03 points to 22,234.53. In more positive news, plumbing group Ferguson was the top FTSE 100 riser as it flew to its highest ever share price of £94.72 – having gained 202p through the day – after lifting its full-year outlook. It came as the company posted a 65pc jump in quarterly profit, while revenue for the three months to March rose by a quarter to $5.9bn (£4.2bn) compared to the same period last year. Ferguson said demand from America has surged as the country reopens, with revenue in its US business growing 23pc. Elsewhere, defence business BAE Systems fell 0.6p to 519.8p despite saying it is on target to meet its full-year guidance, with its air, maritime, electronic systems and intelligence and security operations all performing strongly. Sales are expected to rise by between 5pc and 7pc on the £20.8bn achieved last year, and underlying earnings are forecast to rise by between 6pc to 8pc from the previous level of £2bn.
