Oil Prices Soar 55% Annually
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The New York stock market closed a hotter year than ever before. Although trading was extremely quiet and major indices all fell, this year's performance was evaluated as more brilliant than any other year.
Cryptocurrency Bitcoin fell that day but its rate of increase reached 60%, overwhelming the stock market's rise.
On the 31st (local time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 59.78 points (0.16%) to close at 36,338.30, the S&P 500 index dropped 12.55 points (0.26%) to 4,766.18, and the Nasdaq index fell 96.59 points (0.61%) to 15,644.97.
This year's rate of increase was about 26.9% for the S&P 500 index, marking the largest annual gain since 2019. It is rare for the most representative index covering the US stock market to record a nearly 30% increase.
The Dow and Nasdaq indices also rose 18.7% and 21.4%, respectively.
Cryptocurrencies also failed to escape sluggishness that day. Bitcoin traded at $46,479, down 1.52% compared to 24 hours earlier. Ethereum was down 0.46% at $3,701.
Bitcoin had recorded a sharp rise of 62%, more than double the S&P 500 index's increase, until the previous day. Considering the decline that day, the annual increase rate is about 60%.
CNBC reported that although Bitcoin fell 18% in December, such a price drop could provide tax deduction benefits to investors.
If you made a profit from other capital transactions such as stocks but suffered losses in cryptocurrency trading, you can sell cryptocurrency to receive tax deduction benefits and then immediately repurchase it. In the case of regular stocks, to receive tax deduction benefits, you must not buy the same stock again within 30 days after selling.
West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil plunged 2.3% in the last trade of the year, closing at $75.2 per barrel. WTI reversed to a decline after rising for seven consecutive trading days, but its annual increase reached 55%, the highest in 12 years.
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