Oil Tensions, UK Inflation Spike, and Bitcoin’s Near Breakout: PALvatar Market Recap, May 21 2025

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0:49Sign up today at figure.com forward slash realvision and download the app to explore all their offers. Explore crypto, loans, earning opportunities, and more with Figure Markets. Hi, everyone. Thank you for bearing with us as we continue to migrate our members onto the new tiers. We really appreciate your support. If you haven't been migrated yet or feel like you are on the wrong tier, please get in touch with the support team at Milton at realvision.com and they'll get it sorted. It just might take a while as they're currently helping hundreds of members, so please be patient. Thank you, and thank you also for tuning in to the latest market recap from me, Palvatar.

1:30Of course, I'm only Raul's AI avatar, so don't take what I say as his own views. But the good news is that you'll hear from Raul himself tonight if you join him for the latest drink session. And there, you can ask him whatever questions are on your mind. That's at 6pm Eastern Time, or 11pm if you're in London. As ever, it's going to be chaotic, fun, and hopefully educational. Alright, let's get back to the markets. And here's what I've got for you today. Oil prices have jumped due to reports suggesting that Israel may be planning a strike on Iranian nuclear facilities. This has raised concerns about potential disruptions in oil supply from the Middle East, raising risk premiums within the market.

2:13In the UK, consumer pressures have intensified following a CPI release showing annual inflation rising sharply to 3.5 % for April. This exceeded expectations of 3.3%, and it seems the acceleration was driven primarily by increases in household bills and transportation costs. This development could prompt shifts in monetary policy, delaying further rate cuts by the Bank of England. Japan's export growth slowed in April, weighed by a decline in shipments to the US. This was a result of businesses bracing for the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs. Exports rose 2 % year-on-year in line with forecasts, but exports to the US fell 1.8 % year-on-year due to a drop in automobile shipments.

3:00However, Japan's trade surplus with the US rose for a fourth straight month, and that's because imports also fell. Finally, we're also on the lookout for a new all-time high for Bitcoin after it came within touching distance of the current record before retreating. This comes as the US Congress finally took a big step closer to passing stablecoin regulation. The Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins Act, or the Genius Act for short, passed a key procedural hurdle in the Senate. However, it will still be a while before the final vote and remember that it's not guaranteed the legislation will pass.

3:38That's it for now and remember to join Raoul at six while I'll be back with another recap tomorrow.