At the time of writing, BTC was lingering around the $44,000 level, with investors engulfed by the excitement of two significant pieces of data. On the macro front, recent developments were positive, with Fed Chairman Powell now clearly articulating rate cuts for the coming year. So why were today’s figures important, and what awaits investors tomorrow?
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A few minutes ago, critical US data was released. The GDP and Unemployment Claims data reflect the current economic and employment status of the country. We saw BTC prices wobble mid-month due to strong employment figures.
The Fed will now start reducing interest rates by the second half of 2024 at the latest. According to FedWatch, there’s even a possibility (>60%) of cuts starting as early as March. Since we have definitely reached the end of increases, risk markets have already begun pricing in the cuts.
The latest data and expectations were as follows;
- US Gross Domestic Product Announced: 5.2% (Expectation and Previous: 5.2%)
- US Unemployment Insurance Claims Announced: 205K (Expectation: 215K, Previous: 202K)
Unemployment claims came in slightly below expectations but not by a bad margin. The GDP figure was also in line with expectations, thus relatively positive. Now, for tomorrow, the PCE data, an inflation indicator watched by the Fed, also needs to come in low. BTC is currently above $44,000.
