Finance

The U.S. economy added 162,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in August, substantially exceeding the conservative estimates projected by economists. Despite the rapid pace of hiring, the nationwide unemployment rate held steady at 4.1%. The stronger-than-expected data caused immediate ripples across trading floors, triggering a sudden spike in the 2-year Treasury yield and dampening equity futures as investors re-evaluated the Federal Reserve's next policy moves.

Escalating tensions and ongoing hostilities between the United States and Iran have fueled acute supply disruption concerns in the Middle East, pushing Brent and WTI crude toward significant weekly gains. Concurrently, domestic diesel prices surged to an all-time high of $5.85 per gallon, putting intense pressure on the commercial logistics and industrial transport supply chains. Traders remain highly sensitive to shipping vulnerabilities, particularly around the crucial Strait of Hormuz bottleneck.

The price of Bitcoin rallied over four percent to clear the $81,000 threshold, marking its highest trading level since May. The upward momentum was supercharged by more than $730 million flooding into spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds, registering the largest single-day institutional inflow in nine months. The resurgence of the macro 'debasement trade' and a weakening U.S. dollar have collectively revived retail and institutional appetite for dominant digital assets.