
- Bitcoin price fell slightly to retest the support near $23,250 on Friday.
- The cryptocurrency’s higher price action reflected early trading on Wall Street as the market reacted to US economic data.
- The US added 517,000 jobs versus an estimated 188,000 and unemployment fell to a 53-year low of 3.4%.
Bitcoin responded to Friday’s US jobs report by swinging nearly 2% to trade around $23,250 in the early morning. As reported by CoinJournal, bitcoin fell against the US dollar after briefly touching highs of $24,086.
Across the cryptocurrency, Ethereum fell towards $1,600 with losses of 1.4%.
Bitcoin and stocks react to US jobs data
As noted, early actions across cryptocurrency prices mirrored the opening on Wall Street, as the three major US indices swung lower after the January jobs report showed a higher-than-expected rise in the non-farm payrolls.
Data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the labor market added 517,000 jobs in the first month of 2023. The statistic indicated unexpected growth, surpassing economists’ estimates of 188,000.
The US economy added significantly more jobs in January than the 223,000 managed in December, with the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level in more than half a century. for every dataThe unemployment rate is now down to 3.4%, the lowest level for the United States since 1969. Economists had expected the unemployment rate to be 3.5%.
The market’s reaction to the economic data, combined with sentiment around disappointing earnings results from across the big tech companies, prompted an early sell-off on Wall Street. It’s also likely due to nervousness over what this means for the Fed’s inflation outlook.
The S&P 500 fell nearly 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 100 points before regaining some ground. The Nasdaq Composite Index, weighed down by a drop in technology stocks, fell more than 1.3% in early trading.
Major indices are trying to recoup early losses, such as Bitcoin which is trading near $23,500 as of 10.25am ET. If the bulls regain bullish momentum, BTC is likely to retest its intraday highs just above $24,000.