Business Lookahead: Bitcoin fever is back

STORY: From the soaring price of bitcoin to inflation numbers from the United States, China and the UK, these are the stories to watch for in business and finance over the coming days.

Bitcoin hit an all-time high, bringing it back to a level not seen since November 2021.

No one knows for sure what’s driving the gains, although analysts point to the billions of dollars that have flowed into U.S. spot bitcoin ETFs that launched this year.

Crypto fans say the industry has matured, but central bankers and regulators are still wary.

Tuesday’s U.S. inflation report could give more clarity as to when the Fed will start cutting interest rates.

The consumer price index for February is expected to rise 0.4% after January’s CPI rose at a faster-than-expected 0.3%.

Investors have dialed back expectations for the number of cuts in 2024 amid lingering concerns about strength in the economy reigniting inflation.

Beijing has announced a 5% growth target for 2024… but hasn’t said what stimulus it would deploy to get the economy firing again.

China’s ailing property sector may be getting worse instead of better, with bonds in state-backed developer Vanke having sold off sharply.

And new home prices could fall further this year, with the latest data due on Friday.

Inflation data is due on March 9.

The UK jobs market is showing signs of moderating.

Average regular pay – key for the BoE – decelerated to a rate of 6.2% in December, the slowest pace of growth in over a year, but not slow enough to convince policymakers rates will need to fall sooner rather than later.

Data out on Tuesday might shift that thinking.