While the U.S. adds 311K jobs in February, above expectations, Bitcoin rises
Contrary to expectations, the unemployment rate increased to 3.6% from 3.4%. According to the Nonfarm Payrolls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. added 311,000 jobs in February, above analyst predictions of 205,000. Compared to forecasts for it to remain constant at 3.4%, the jobless rate increased to 3.6%. The massive job growth of 517,000 in January was downgraded to 504,000. After an almost 8% decline in the 24 hours leading up to Friday morning’s employment report, Bitcoin (BTC) is marginally rebounding and is back at little over $20,000.
The morning employment report, which is always closely watched, has gained extra significance in light of recent events. First, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said earlier this week that in order to combat persistently rising inflation, the US central bank may need to become more proactive in tightening monetary policy. Then, on Wednesday night, cryptocurrency lender Silvergate Bank failed. Outside of the cryptocurrency community, the Silvergate failure did not cause much concern, but it was quickly followed by a collapse in the stock price of SVB Financial (SIVB), the holding company of tech-friendly lender Silicon Valley Bank (down 60% on Thursday and down another 60% in premarket trading on Friday).
The SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KBE), which tracks the banking industry, had a 7.3% decline on Thursday. Investors are now asking if the problem is not cryptocurrency or technology, but rather if the last year’s rise in interest rates has left the banking industry sitting on substantial losses in their bond holdings. As a result, the phrase “contagion” has suddenly swiftly returned to the Wall Street vernacular. A noteworthy statistic from the payrolls data for February was average hourly wages, which were up by 0.2% but less than expected at 0.3%. This was down from 0.4% in January. Earnings increased 4.6% vs 4.4% in January on an annual basis. Even though the unemployment rate increased, February’s 311,000 job gains (and the little downward adjustment to the January data) are expected to put the pressure on the Fed to keep raising interest rates, which might continue to be a hindrance for the banking industry and for bitcoin.
Source: www.Pipsafe.com – While the U.S. adds 311K jobs in February, above expectations, Bitcoin rises
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