Bitcoin Pauses Above $85,000 as Weak Jobs Report Lowers Rate Hike Bets
Bitcoin’s price stalled above $85,000 on Monday, failing to push past its late-September peak of $87,000, as traders reacted to a weaker-than-expected U.S. jobs report. The report, released on Friday, showed that employers added only 29,000 jobs in September, falling short of the 12-month average of 45,000. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.2%, while average hourly earnings rose just 0.1% for the month and 3.0% year-over-year.
The disappointing jobs data led traders to reduce bets on an October Federal Reserve rate hike, with the odds of a quarter-point increase dropping to 17% from nearly 36% a week earlier. Adam Schickling, a senior economist at Vanguard, noted that the labor market had not significantly deteriorated but also showed no meaningful improvement, suggesting the Fed may opt to wait for more data before acting.
Bitcoin initially surged to $86,800 following the jobs report before dropping to $84,250 by mid-afternoon. It later recovered, trading near $86,250 at the time of writing, up 1.4% over 24 hours. The cryptocurrency had previously reached an eight-month high above $87,000 in late September before retreating.
The Fed’s last rate hike occurred in September, raising its benchmark rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%. While traders still anticipate a December hike, with odds above 75%, the October jobs report on November 6 could influence future policy decisions.