[Bitcoin Now] Inflation Concerns Ease, Bitcoin Rises to $17,000 Range

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] As concerns over US inflation ease, the price of the representative virtual asset Bitcoin rose to the $17,000 range.

According to the global virtual asset market status relay site CoinMarketCap, as of 11:19 AM on the 9th, the price of Bitcoin was recorded at $17,189 (approximately 21.44 million KRW), up 1.47% from the previous day. This is the first time since the 17th of last month that it has surpassed $17,000.

Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News

The price of Bitcoin is rising as concerns about inflation ease due to a slowdown in the US wage growth trend. The average hourly wage in the US for December rose 0.3% from the previous month and 4.6% from the same month last year. Market forecasts were 0.4% and 5.0%, respectively, which were below expectations. The year-over-year wage growth rate slowed to the lowest level since the summer of 2021.

The US stock market, which shows a synchronization phenomenon, also rose. On the 6th (local time), the Nasdaq index, centered on technology stocks, closed at 10,569.29, up 264.05 points (2.56%). The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 700.53 points (2.13%) to 33,630.61, and the large-cap S&P 500 index closed at 3,895.08, up 86.98 points (2.28%).

Economic indicators for the service sector also recorded the lowest level since May 2020. According to the US Institute for Supply Management (ISM), the December service Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 49.6, below the baseline of 50, indicating that inflation concerns have eased. A reading below 50 indicates economic contraction.

Meanwhile, according to the virtual asset data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which expresses investor sentiment as an index, recorded 25 points (extreme fear), the same as the previous day. Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that the closer to 0 points, the more pessimistic investors feel (extreme fear), and the closer to 100 points, the more optimistic they are.