Saudi Aramco unexpectedly cuts oil prices for Asia, with WTI and Brent crudes falling 2% intraday.

Swiss leading pure private bank and wealth management group Julius Baer forecasts the U.S. Federal Reserve will deliver its final 25 basis point interest rate hike in December, after which it will enter an extended pause. The bank notes that the U.S. labor market is cooling, and financial conditions have tightened significantly—driven primarily by rising long-term Treasury yields and a stronger U.S. dollar, rather than higher short-term interest rates. December is now seen as the most likely window for the final rate hike.

According to statistics from XWIN Japan, in the 12 months following all 19 U.S. midterm elections since 1950, the S&P 500 index has risen, with an average gain of 15.4%. The third year of a U.S. president’s term has historically been its strongest performing period. In the crypto market, Bitcoin has posted gains of 24.5%, 44.9%, and 92.3% in the 12 months after the 2014, 2018, and 2022 midterm elections respectively. However, Bitcoin dropped 45.5% in the first month after the 2018 election. It should be noted that there are only three observed data points for the crypto market, which is insufficient to form a reliable pattern. Analysts suggest that after midterm elections are finalized, attention should be paid to whether yields stabilize, institutional buying persists, and regulatory progress is made. Political tailwinds may benefit Bitcoin, but sustained growth still requires favorable market conditions to align.

NEAR Protocol announced that MyNearWallet, a non-custodial wallet in the NEAR ecosystem, will cease operations on October 31, requiring users to migrate to a new wallet or access method. NEAR stressed that user assets remain stored on-chain and are not custodied by MyNearWallet, so the wallet’s retirement will not impact the on-chain assets themselves. The official advised users to perform a small test before migrating and retain their original wallet recovery information until all balances are confirmed as transferred. MyNearWallet will gradually transition to migration and recovery functions moving forward.

Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, warned in a Bloomberg interview that the U.S. could face a debt crisis within the next three years as debt interest payments increasingly crowd out other federal government budget items. Dalio noted that the U.S. government collects roughly $5.5 trillion in annual revenue and spends around $7.5 trillion, with a fiscal deficit approaching $2 trillion. Currently, the U.S. federal government’s annual interest expenditure is about $1 trillion; when including maturing debt that needs refinancing, the total annual debt servicing and refinancing requirement amounts to roughly $11 trillion. Meanwhile, U.S. Treasury yields have continued to rise: the 10-year Treasury yield closed at 5.31% on October 5, while the 30-year yield hit 5.66%, further increasing the government’s financing pressure. Dalio recommended cutting spending, boosting tax revenue, and lowering interest rates to reduce the fiscal deficit as a share of GDP from around 6% to 3%. On asset allocation, he previously advised allocating 10% to 15% of a portfolio to gold, with bitcoin making up only a small portion.

Binance Research released its October market report, noting that despite the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first interest rate hike since 2023 and the failure of the CLARITY Act, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization rose 11% in September to $2.99 trillion. Spot Bitcoin (BTC) ETFs saw a net inflow of $3.49 billion that month, pushing their net flow in 2026 to positive territory for the first time on September 23. BTC confirmed a "golden cross" – where the 50-day moving average crossed above the 200-day moving average – on September 8, with the gap between the two indicators widening to around $7,500. Historically, such deep resets are often followed by strong recoveries.

Explosions were heard again in northern Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, on October 6. On the evening of October 5 local time and early this morning, the area near King Khalid Airport in northern Riyadh was attacked by Yemen’s Houthi armed group, with successive loud blasts reported. Yemen’s Houthi armed group said in a latest statement today that it had attacked Abha Airport in Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities have not confirmed this report. (CCTV International News)