In this week’s Federal Reserve meeting, Powell touched on important details and pointed out what investors should focus on. As expected, Powell tempered excessive optimism and is likely to do the same in the March meeting, with the market beginning to accept an annual cut of around 75 basis points if there are no significant improvements in the data.
Key Data Anticipated by the Fed Released
Bitcoin and altcoins were closely watching three pieces of data that were just announced. The average hourly earnings, non-farm employment, and unemployment data in the US were of critical importance. Powell mentioned that if we see abnormal weakness on the employment front, we could start lowering interest rates, but he also emphasized that they do not anticipate such a scenario.
Now, for this reason, the importance of upcoming employment data has increased even more. Crypto investors are also keenly awaiting today’s data.
Expectations were that the unemployment rate, previously announced at 3.7%, would climb back to the 3.8% range. Non-Farm Employment estimates were shared at 185K against the previous month’s figure of 216K. As for wage increases, an annual level of 4.1% was targeted without an abnormal rise.
The data released were as follows;
- Unemployment Rate Announced: 3.7% (Forecast: 3.8% Previous: 3.7%)
- Hourly Earnings Announced: 4.5% (Forecast: 4.1% Previous: 4.1%)
- Non-Farm Employment Announced: 353K (Forecast: 185K Previous: 216K)
The data came in terribly. Non-farm employment was significantly higher and hourly earnings of the kind that will negatively affect the decline in inflation. While Powell indicated that he did not expect a relaxation in employment, he was probably aware of this. Moreover, he is set to push back against those expecting an early rate cut with strong employment data. There could be a notable drop in BTC prices in the coming hours.
