One analyst said the dollar reacts negatively to rising U.S. unemployment claims, benefiting Bitcoin along with the stock market.
The U.S. Dollar Index (DXY), which measures the dollar against the world’s major currencies, fell 0.45% to 105.25 from a high of 105.73 on Thursday, according to TradingView data.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 traded within 1% of its all-time high following the US unemployment rate announcement. By the end of trading Thursday, the Dow Jones was up 0.85%, the S&P 500 was up 0.51% and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.27%. Additionally, according to The Block’s price page, the price of Bitcoin is up 2.5% over the past 24 hours and is trading at $62,927 at 9:06 AM ET.
“U.S. interest rates appear to have peaked with the U.S. two-year yield at minus 20 basis points on April 30, with DXY down 1% and Bitcoin up 8%,” said Aurelie, senior research analyst at Nansen.ai. Barthere told The Block.
According to ING Bank FX strategist Francesco, “The dollar’s negative reaction to yesterday’s modest rise in US jobless claims means the generally overbought dollar remains quite vulnerable to the release of slightly softer US data, and now markets are even more cautious.” “It speaks volumes about the easing U.S. jobs market,” Pesole said in a note on Friday.
Risky assets benefit from the weak dollar
The lower DXY is consistent with weak employment data coming out of the U.S., which provides more evidence that the U.S. labor market is steadily cooling and could pressure the Fed to cut interest rates faster.
Rising expectations of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut and a decline in the DXY may lead investors to shift capital from safe assets, such as bonds, to riskier assets, such as stocks and cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
However, Barthere emphasized that a fall in the dollar could have a negative impact on both credit markets and risk assets. “Investors should remain alert to potential signs of further weakening growth, which would not be positive for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies, as equities and credit are rich in terms of historical valuations and risk premiums.”
The story of America’s job slowdown is gaining attention.
New claims for jobless benefits rose last week to the highest level in more than eight months, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s weekly unemployment claims report on Thursday.
The data follows a weak U.S. jobs report on Friday showing employers added just 175,000 jobs last month. That figure falls short of economists’ expectations for an increase of 243,000.
The GM 30 index, which represents the top 30 cryptocurrencies, rose 2.53% to 131.96 over the past 24 hours.
Disclaimer: The Block is an independent media outlet delivering news, research and data. As of November 2023, Foresight Ventures is a majority investor in The Block. Foresight Ventures invests in other companies in the cryptocurrency space. Cryptocurrency exchange Bitget is an anchor LP of Foresight Ventures. The Block continues to operate independently to provide objective, impactful and timely information about the cryptocurrency industry. Below are our current financial disclosures.
© 2023 The Block. All rights reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not provided or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial or other advice.