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```htmlAt an industry conference held this week, several leading manufacturers stated that the surge in demand for battery energy storage systems is helping to offset the slowdown in the electric vehicle market. Fastmarkets CEO Raju Daswani said: "The phase of over-adjustment in the market has ended. Energy storage has become the main driving force for growth in this market." According to Fastmarkets' estimates, lithium demand from battery energy storage systems is growing at a rate of 40% per year. "This is a fundamental shift. Compared with consumer-driven and more volatile electric vehicle demand, it provides a more solid foundation for the market." (Reuters)```

Gold prices rising boosted metal mining stocks on Friday, but overall market gains were limited as investors worried about inflation driven by the artificial intelligence (AI) boom. BMO Capital Markets chief economist Douglas Porter stated in a report: “Just as concerns about an oil shock are gradually fading, persistent cost pressures stemming from the ongoing AI boom have come to the forefront.” The materials sector, which includes metal mining companies, rose 1%. This marked the second consecutive trading day of gains for the sector, after its price on Wednesday neared the bottom of its range so far this year. As the US dollar gave back some recent gains, gold prices increased 1%. The technology sector climbed 1.2%, with e-commerce company Shopify’s share price rising 4.6%. The industrial sector went up 0.7%, while the real estate sector closed 1.6% higher. The two most heavily weighted sectors edged lower. The financial sector fell 0.2% and the energy sector dropped 0.3%. As oil tankers continued departing the Strait of Hormuz, supply concerns eased and New York crude oil prices sank 3.7%, settling at 69.23 dollars per barrel, accelerating its steep weekly loss. TSX is on track to rise 6.8% in the second quarter, which would mark its eighth consecutive quarter of gains.

Almost all of the top 10 ZEC traders on the Hyperliquid platform currently hold long positions. (Cointelegraph)