[Bitcoin Now] Sideways Movement Despite US Employment Slowdown... Investor Sentiment 'Neutral'

Despite a slowdown in the US labor market, the price of the leading cryptocurrency Bitcoin is showing a sideways trend. However, some evaluations suggest that the indicators are not enough to ease concerns about tightening by the Federal Reserve (Fed).

Image source=Reuters·Yonhap News

According to the global cryptocurrency market tracking site CoinMarketCap, as of 1:37 PM on the 6th, the price of Bitcoin was recorded at $29,042 (approximately 37.99 million KRW), up 0.05% from the previous day.

Bitcoin's price remained sideways despite the slowdown in US employment. The Fed has stated that it will base its September interest rate decision on the indicators, and if employment slows, the possibility of a rate freeze increases. The US Department of Labor reported that nonfarm payrolls increased by 187,000 in July, falling short of the market expectation of 200,000. The June figure was also revised downward from an increase of 209,000 to 185,000. The May figure was adjusted down from 306,000 to 281,000.

However, the July unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, lower than both the market expectation and the previous month's 3.6%. This is the lowest figure since April. The wage growth rate was 4.36%, slightly above the previous month's 4.35% and the market expectation of 4.2%, indicating that wage-driven inflationary pressure remains.

In the market, there are criticisms that the slowdown in employment is not sufficient to ease concerns about tightening. Additionally, it was explained that if employment indicators worsen rapidly, recession concerns could resurface.

On the 4th (local time), the US stock market also closed lower. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 150.27 points (0.43%) to 35,065.62, the Standard & Poor's (S&P) 500 index dropped 23.86 points (0.53%) to 4,478.03, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq index closed down 50.48 points (0.36%) at 13,909.24.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency investor sentiment worsened. According to cryptocurrency data provider Alternative, the Fear & Greed Index, which expresses investor sentiment as an index, fell by 1 point to 49 (neutral) compared to the previous day. It dropped 3 points from 52 (neutral) a week ago. Alternative's Fear & Greed Index means that a score closer to 0 indicates extreme fear and pessimism about investing, while a score near 100 indicates optimism.