Silver Fund Full-Day Halt, Oil Funds Paused: China Acts to Limit Speculative Losses

Posted on January 30, 2026January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

China suspended trading of five commodity funds on Friday to reduce the underlying risks of investment mania in gold, silver, and oil, and to stop the mania of gold, silver, and oil investors.

The only public fund investing in silver futures in mainland China, UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund, a listed open-ended fund (LOF), will be suspended for the entire day on Friday, the second such halt since January 22.

The only public fund in China that makes direct investments in silver futures, the UBS SDIC Silver Futures Fund, was suspended for the duration of the trading day. After several risk alerts and brief pauses since late 2025, this is its second full-day suspension since January 22.

The fund has traded at unsustainable premiums—around 36 percent over Shanghai Futures Exchange silver contracts—driven by speculative demand, social media hype, and limited alternatives for Chinese investors to gain silver exposure.

Shorter one-hour suspensions (until 10:30 a.m.) were imposed on four oil LOFs. According to analysts quoted in reports, these halts are intended to preserve capital market stability, shield retail investors from potential “huge losses” if conditions abruptly reverse, and lower underlying systemic risks.

A significant increase in silver and gold prices, driven by geopolitical tensions and supply limitations (including China’s previous export restrictions), is among the background factors.

Chinese investors’ speculative demand, demonstrated by the premiums local prices have earned over international benchmarks, contributed to the increase in global prices. There have also been other indications of high demand. With warnings that the premium over Shanghai Futures Exchange contracts is “unsustainable,”

China’s sole pure-play silver fund temporarily stopped trading this week and turned away new clients. Citigroup Inc. stated earlier this week that “Chinese retail investors tend to be trend-following, like traders in US futures and derivatives markets.”

The bank projected that silver would reach $150 in three months and that strong buying would continue “due to robust short-term momentum.” Gold prices have risen alongside demand from exchange-traded funds backed by the metal. However, ETF withdrawals have not stopped silver’s recent sharp increases.

Gold’s Wild Ride: Second-Day Freefall Caps Off 25% Monthly Explosion

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Gold is seeing significant liquidation for the second day in a row on Friday following a parabolic increase of over 25% since the start of this month and a string of record highs set over the last two weeks or so, Amidst the optimism surrounding a Senate agreement to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, the US dollar sees some positive movement.

Gold reduces significant intraday losses to the $5,100 range, but it appears vulnerable after a series of record highs set over the last two weeks or so and a parabolic increase of more than 25 percent since the beginning of this month.

Amidst the optimism surrounding a Senate agreement to fund the federal government for the remainder of the fiscal year, the US dollar sees some positive movement.

This turns out to be a major factor undermining the safe-haven precious metal and helps reduce short-term political uncertainty

However, the possibility of lower US interest rates and the risk of the Federal Reserve losing its independence could prevent any significant USD appreciation and support the lower-yielding gold.

Furthermore, investor sentiment may be impacted by US President Donald Trump’s tariff threats and ongoing geopolitical uncertainties, which should further limit bullion losses. Therefore, before confirming that the XAU/USD pair has peaked, bearish traders should exercise caution.

China’s Speculative Frenzy Propels Copper to Record $14,500+ High

Posted on January 30, 2026January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Copper surged by the most in over 16 years as metals continued their dramatic start to the year, driven by a wave of intense speculative trading in China.

Investors are pouring money into base metals on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, expecting greater US growth and increased spending on data centers, robotics, and power infrastructure. Global prices are rising as a result, with copper hitting a record high of $14,500 per ton on the London Metal Exchange.

China’s leading commodities trading platform is the Shanghai bourse, and sporadic periods of intense trading on the exchange have frequently sparked significant changes in international markets. As of last week, January was already the busiest month ever for the six base metals on the SHFE, and on Thursday, copper recorded its second-highest daily trading volumes ever.

A declining US dollar, increased demand for tangible assets, and heightened geopolitical tensions as the Trump administration pursues a more assertive foreign policy have all contributed to commodities’ eye-watering recent weeks. The rally has most recently been aided by conjecture that the next head of the Federal Reserve will be more dovish than Jerome Powell.

Precious metals, including copper, which is essential to the energy transition, have reached record highs. Even crude oil, which was hampered by worries about a global glut last year, has increased recently. According to Eric Liu, deputy general manager of ASK Resources Co., “commodities are taking turns to rally.”

The price of copper has been hovering around $13,000, and money has been accumulating over the metal for a while. As of 8:19 a.m., copper had increased by 6.4% to $13,922.50 per ton on the LME.

Bitcoin Options Traders Betting Big on Short-Term Crash to $70K–$75K

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Bitcoin fell 8% to reach a low of $81.3K before making a minor comeback on Friday morning. There were $1.7 billion in liquidated positions amid 7% drop in the overall cryptocurrency market capitalization.

Bitcoin’s open interest, which represents the total number of open positions, has abruptly increased since Wednesday. Options market investors are betting on a short-term crash to the $70,000 to $75,000 range, which hovers at -12 percent, indicating that investors are paying a premium for downside protection.

Both futures and spot cumulative volume delta showed a decline in the same period, confirming that Bitcoin’s decline was caused by combined selling pressure from perpetual and spot investors.

Overall, the markets anticipate a difficult beginning to February. He said that while the Clarity Act—currently being debated in the Senate—is a positive regulatory step for the industry, it is unlikely to drive prices higher in the short term

The correction was largely caused by changes in Washington policy, such as President Donald Trump’s declaration that he would name his next nominee for Federal Reserve Chairman on Friday.

Sources familiar with the situation told Reuters that former Fed Governor Kevin Warsh met with President Trump at the White House on Thursday and reportedly “impressed” the President, though nothing is final until an official announcement is made, which is anticipated later this morning.

Market players anticipate that Kevin Warsh, a longtime opponent of quantitative easing and likely inflation hawk, will take over as chair. The short-term outlook for Bitcoin is negative due to Trump’s executive order declaring a national emergency on Thursday.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX Eyes Blockbuster Merger With Tesla — or xAI

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

SpaceX is thinking about merging with Tesla Inc. as well as a different merger with the artificial intelligence company xAI, a sign that billionaire Elon Musk is considering ways to strengthen his empire, according to people with knowledge of the situation.

The company has discussed the viability of a partnership between SpaceX and Tesla, an idea that some investors are promoting.

According to some of the sources, they are also looking into a partnership between SpaceX and xAI before an IPO. An infrastructure fund and Middle Eastern sovereign investors could show a significant amount of interest in any deal. According to one of them, a deal might also need a significant financing component.

According to the people, no final decisions have been made, details may change, and the companies may choose to stay apart. Requests for comment from Musk and representatives of SpaceX, xAI, and Tesla were not immediately answered.

The different scenarios could support different aspects of Musk’s ambitious plan for SpaceX, which involves the company launching data centers into space to perform complex computing for AI.

If SpaceX can make the engineering work, xAI could gain a great deal from the computing power offered by its data centers in orbit. SpaceX may be able to use solar energy in space to power its data centers thanks to Tesla’s capacity to produce energy storage devices.

Musk has also talked about sending Tesla’s Optimus robots to Mars and the moon using SpaceX’s Starship rockets. Tesla shares increased by as much as 4.5%. The company’s market value was approximately $1.56 trillion after the stock dropped 3.5 percent during regular business hours.

Microsoft’s $357 Billion Rout Is Worst Since DeepSeek Hammered Nvidia

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Microsoft shares on Thursday wiped out $357 billion in value, making it the second-largest selling session in stock market history.

The software giant’s stock closed down 10% following Microsoft’s earnings after the bell on Wednesday, which revealed record spending on artificial intelligence as growth at its key cloud unit slowed, its largest decline since March 2020.

NVIDIA Corp. was the only company whose valuation was destroyed in a single day’s $593 billion rout last year after the launch of DeepSeek’s low-cost AI model.

Peers like Alphabet and Nvidia both lost more than $100 billion at one point on Thursday, indicating that the chill was felt elsewhere as well. Amazon’s stock dropped 0.5 percent, while Alphabet’s recovered, closing up 0.7 percent. Investors’ doubts about the long-term viability of Big Tech’s hundreds of billions of dollars spent on AI are growing at the time of the selloff. According to Microsoft’s results, capital expenditures increased by 66% to a record $37.5 billion in the most recent quarter, but growth at its closely watched Azure cloud computing division slowed from the previous quarter.

This is one of the worst selloffs Microsoft has ever experienced. Only a few days, including Black Monday in 1987, the .com bubble, and the peak of the Covid-19-fueled selloff in 2020, have seen the stock drop significantly since its initial public offering in 1986.

XRP Burns Heating Up While Price Dips Below $1.80 – Deflationary Signal or Buying Opportunity

Posted on January 30, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

XRP is currently trading below $1.80 after a notable decline. According to live data from major trackers, the price of XRP is currently between $1.75 and $1.76, down about 6% over the past day.

This represents a distinct break below the $1.80 mark. Key Details on the Recent Movement24-hour range: Low ~$1.73, high ~$1.89 (per CoinMarketCap and CoinGecko aggregates). After a wider decline from recent highs around $1.90–$2.00 earlier in the month,

Recent performance: Much of January’s earlier gains have been erased, down about 6% in the last 24 hours and about 8% over the last week. Market context: This aligns with wider crypto market pressure (e.g.). g. macro factors like tariff tensions and geopolitical risks (e.g., Bitcoin declining toward $87K in some reports).

Trump-Iran mentions in sentiment, and risk-off selling. Additionally, XRP open interest has plummeted to multi-month lows, indicating less leverage and trader caution.

Technical notes: $1.8 had been repeatedly tested as a crucial support zone. Bearish signals have resulted, with some analysts cautioning that if momentum doesn’t reverse, there may be more declines towards $1.60–$1.72. Others, however, believe that this is a shakeout, with bullish divergence for a bounce and spot volume spikes close to support.

Copper Blasts Past $14,000 as China’s Speculative Mania Fuels Rally

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Copper surged by the most in over 16 years as metals continued their dramatic start to the year, driven by a wave of intense speculative trading in China.

The price of copper has been hovering around $13,000, and money has been accumulating over the metal for a while. As of 8:19 a.m., copper had increased by 6.4% to $13,922.50 per ton on the LME.

Nvidia Confirms No Final Nod for H200 in China Yet

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

NVIDIA has not yet received any orders for its H200 AI chips from Chinese consumers because Beijing is still debating whether to permit imports of the US company’s components. NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang told reporters in Taipei on Thursday.

“I’m hoping that the Chinese government would allow Nvidia to sell the H200.” “The Chinese government is currently in charge, but they are still making decisions, so we must wait patiently,” Huang claimed to have met government officials and customers, but no new orders for the H200 chips had been placed.

The nation’s biggest tech companies, including Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., were recently informed by Chinese officials. They can prepare to place orders for the chips, indicating that Beijing is close to formally authorizing imports of parts needed to power artificial intelligence.

The executive went on to say that the chip is “very good” for the Chinese market and that his clients would really like to have the H200, an older version of Nvidia’s AI product that the US has theoretically agreed to sell to China. He stated that the H200’s US license is being finalized.

The most valuable company in the world is trying to regain its position in the largest semiconductor market in the world after US President Donald Trump’s administration stated the H200 chip could be exported to China while restricting sales of cutting-edge components due to national security concerns. The world’s data center operators highly value Nvidia’s chips, which are regarded as the gold standard for creating and executing AI models.

According to Huang, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is Nvidia’s primary production partner. would have to “add tremendous amounts of capacity in the next decade” to satisfy demand.

Fed Holds Rates, Nods to Stabilizing Jobs — Powell’s Final Shots at Cuts Fade

Posted on January 29, 2026 by Olumide Adesina

Jerome Powell has two more chances to change interest rates before his tenure as chair of the Federal Reserve expires, but he might not need them. Powell highlighted a “clear improvement” in the US outlook and said the job market is showing signs of stabilizing after the Fed kept borrowing costs on hold on Wednesday.

It conveys a cautious optimism: Fed officials implemented three cuts in the fall, and no indication in the most recent data that additional cuts are required to support the economy.

Futures markets anticipate that rates won’t change until June. By then, Powell’s tenure as chair should have come to an end, and a new one should take over, probably ushering in a new phase of President Donald Trump’s rate-cutting campaign, which has rocked the Fed over the past year. The only two officials who voted for another cut this week were Governor Christopher Waller, one of four names on Trump’s short list, and Governor Stephen Miran, who is on leave at the Fed from his position as a top Trump aide. This could be a sign of things to come.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to maintain the benchmark federal funds rate between 3.5 and 3.75 percent. In favor of a quarter-point reduction, Waller and Miran dissented.

Officials removed language from the three earlier statements that suggested there were more negative employment risks. Since the Fed’s December meeting, statistics have shown that growth has accelerated, inflation has decreased, and employment has stabilized.

Powell told reporters on Wednesday that “the outlook for economic activity has improved, clearly improved since the last meeting, and that should matter for labor demand and for employment over time.” Despite growing pressure from the Trump administration, expectations for a near-term rate cut are likely to be restrained by that revised labor market assessment.

Powell, however, avoided exaggerating the labor market’s improvement. “I wouldn’t go too far with that,” he stated, despite it having shown signs of stabilizing.