U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Fall To 214,000; BTC Price Drops

The U.S. initial jobless claims fell last week, way below expectations, suggesting that the labor market may not be as weak as feared. This has led to a drop in the BTC price, which is trading just above $87,000. The flagship crypto continues to trade sideways even as other major assets reach new highs.

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall Below Expectations, BTC Price Drops

Department of Labor data show that initial jobless claims were 214,000 for the week ending December 20. This represents a decrease of 10,000 from the previous week’s unrevised level of 224,000. It is also below the estimates of 224,000 for last week.

This macro data suggests that the labor market may not be as weak as feared, which had necessitated the three Fed rate cuts this year. However, there is the possibility that the drop in the weekly claims is due to the volatile holiday season. Meanwhile, the BTC price has reacted to the release of the data.

Bitcoin dropped on the back of the release of the U.S. weekly jobless claims and is trading just above the psychological $87,000 level. The flagship crypto is down in the last 24 hours and continues to struggle to break above $90,000.

The initial jobless claims further strengthen the case for the Fed to hold rates steady after the release of the strong Q3 GDP report yesterday. This is bearish for the BTC price, considering how rate cuts inject more liquidity into the flagship crypto and other crypto assets.

As CoinGape reported, the odds of the Fed holding rates in January have increased to 86%. Meanwhile, there is only a 13% chance that the Fed will lower rates by 25 basis points (bps).

Crypto Traders Bet Against Year-End Rally To $100,000

Polymarket data shows that crypto traders are currently betting against a year-end BTC price rally to $100,000. There is only a 3% chance that the flagship crypto reaches this psychological price level.

There is a higher chance of Bitcoin dropping to $80,000, with a 13% probability. Meanwhile, crypto traders are betting that there is a 10% chance that BTC could rally to $95,000 before the year ends.

CoinGape reported that the BTC price is at risk of further decline due to selling pressure from Bitcoin ETFs. BlackRock today deposited almost $200 million worth of BTC into Coinbase, likely to offload the coins.

Meanwhile, the on-chain analytics platform CryptoQuant stated that the bear market scenario is becoming relevant. This came as the firm noted that the Bitcoin Combined Market Index is below equilibrium but still well above historical bottom zones, suggesting the market may be transitioning into a bear market.