Bitcoin moved higher on Friday amid a broader advance in risk-driven markets as traders welcomed the slower-than-expected U.S. nonfarm payrolls data, which cemented expectations for a September interest rate cut.
The world’s biggest cryptocurrency was also sitting on a gain of more than 4% this week, as it recovered from steep declines logged through most of August.
Broader crypto prices also saw slight gains on Friday following the soft payrolls print.
Bitcoin rose 2.3% to $113,220 by 09:59 ET (13:59 GMT).
Bitcoin rises on much slower-than-expected August jobs data
U.S. job growth slowed sharply in August, reinforcing signs of a cooling labor market and bolstering expectations that the Federal Reserve will move ahead with an interest rate cut later this month.
Nonfarm payrolls rose by only 22,000, well short of the 75,000 increase forecast in a Dow Jones survey, the Labor Department said Friday. The unemployment rate climbed to 4.3%.
The data marked a step down from July’s 79,000 gain, which was revised up slightly, while June’s figure was cut to show a net decline of 13,000.
Markets reacted swiftly. Bitcoin turned higher immediately after the release, while spot gold jumped more than 1% to a record $3,594 an ounce.
Crypto markets largely lagged an uptick in broader risk-driven assets this week, amid increasing conviction that the Fed will cut interest rates later this month.
Expectations of a rate cut were furthered by several Fed officials stating that weakness in the labor market will make the central bank more open to easing. The comments echoed a similar notion raised by Fed Chair Jerome Powell in August.
Other data on the labor market released this week– including job openings and jobless claims– missed expectations, adding to speculation over a September cut.
Following today’s nonfarm payrolls data, futures traders fully priced in a quarter-point Fed rate cut, with the odds hitting 100%, and also assigned a 12% chance of a larger half-point reduction, according to CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
Lower rates tend to benefit assets such as crypto, given that they increase market liquidity levels and free up more capital for speculation.
Crypto price today: Bitcoin, altcoins set for weekly gains
Bitcoin was trading up 4.4% this week, seeing some relief after tumbling from record highs through late-August. The world’s largest crypto still remained largely rangebound, taking limited support from more corporate Bitcoin buying and plans for friendlier regulations in the United States.
Broader crypto prices largely lagged Bitcoin this week. World no.2 crypto Ether added 1.3% to $4,434.77, and was up nearly 1% for the week.
Solana rose 1.2%, while Cardano gained 3.5%. The two altcoins were up 4.2% and 3.5% for the week, respectively.
Among meme tokens, Dogecoin climbed 2.2%, while $TRUMP added 1.4%.
Leave a comment