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The bitcoin price has been in a consolidation phase over the past few weeks.
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US will publish the latest non-farm payrolls (NFP) data.
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Strong jobs numbers would be bearish for BTC.
Bitcoin The price has been in a tight range for the past few months. BTC/USD has ranged between last month’s low of around 16,285 and high of 18,455. Bitcoin is down more than 22% from its November high.
US Non-Farm Payrolls Data
Bitcoin The price has been in a consolidation phase over the past few weeks. The next major catalyst for BTC price will be the upcoming US jobs data. Economists polled by Reuters believe the economy added more than 200k jobs while the unemployment rate remained at 3.7%. If analysts are accurate, this means the economy added millions of jobs in 2022.
They also expect the data to show that the nation’s wages held steady in December. Average hourly earnings are expected to increase by 5.0% while the participation rate remains at 62.1%. The numbers come a day after the ADP published strong employment data. They showed that the economy added 235k jobs.
US jobs numbers have an effect on bitcoin price as they affect the Federal Reserve. The Fed has a dual mandate to ensure that inflation and the unemployment rate are stable. It increases rates when inflation rises. In 2022, the bank hiked rates by 450 basis points.
The NFP payrolls data will come two days after the Federal Reserve published the minutes of the previous meeting. The minutes revealed that the Fed was considering raising interest rates in 2023 to reduce inflation.
All indications are that inflation is coming down. In December, inflation data showed that consumer prices fell to 7.3% in November. With gasoline prices and natural gas prices falling, it is likely that inflation will ease.
If the US publishes strong jobs data, the price of bitcoin could decline as it would mean the Fed will continue to raise rates.
bitcoin price prediction
The four-hour chart shows that bitcoin has been in a consolidation phase over the past few weeks. As a result, it remains at the 25-day and 50-day moving averages. It has also moved slightly above the Woody Pivot Point while the Average True Range (ATR) has pointed downward.
Therefore, bitcoin is likely to remain in this range in the coming days as investors await the upcoming US inflation data. The key level to watch will be $15,800.
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