BTC price fluctuations: Six key economic reports this week may be the trend vane

Source: Blockchain Knight

The continued decline in BTC prices is evidence of the growing volatility and uncertainty in the Crypto asset market. As BTC faces greater downward pressure, the market is awaiting a series of key economic reports to be released this week that could affect price action.

BTC prices are at risk as markets await key economic reports

After several weeks of strong performance, BTC's recent price plunge has raised concerns about further declines and the potential start of a bear market. From today, the next few days will be crucial in determining whether BTC can recover from the current bearish trend or fall further.

Given the current state of the market, The Kobeissi Letter, an industry-leading global capital market commentary publication, has outlined six key economic events on the X platform (formerly Twitter) that could affect the broader financial and Crypto asset markets.

The first event is the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) scheduled for release on Tuesday, February 11. This economic data measures the number of job openings in the United States. Typically, a strong labor market means that the economy remains stable, which may delay further interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve, leading to poor performance of BTC and other digital assets.

The second economic data released on the same day is the Short-Term Energy Outlook report of the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The report provides information on fuel supply and demand. While this economic event may not be a direct driver of the Crypto asset market, energy costs affect inflation, which in turn affects the policies of the Federal Reserve. These policies may have an adverse or boosting effect on BTC prices.

The third event scheduled for release on Wednesday (February 13) is the Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation data for February.

This economic data measures inflation at the consumer level and plays a key role in determining future interest rate cuts by the Federal Reserve. If the CPI is higher than expected, it could have a negative impact on BTC as it would indicate that persistent inflation is persisting, which could delay monetary easing.

The next economic data set to be released on Thursday is the weekly unemployment claims report. If unemployment claims continue to rise, it could indicate that the economy is weakening, which could increase market expectations for rate cuts, thereby driving Bitcoin prices higher.

Another key event coming out on the same day is the February Producer Price Index (PPI). This data measures inflation at the wholesale level. A higher-than-expected PPI report could have a negative impact on BTC and could lead to a further crash by reducing the likelihood of a near-term rate cut by the Federal Reserve.

Final Economic Reports Scheduled for Release This Week

As the market closely monitors the latest reports on major economic events, Bitcoin faces greater volatility. Its price has fallen again by 2.28% in just 24 hours. According to CoinMarketCap, the pioneer Crypto asset has plunged 17.22% over the past month, with its price falling to $80,380.

If the upcoming economic reports are negative for the market, the BTC price could plunge further as the bearish sentiment could intensify. The last financial report scheduled for release on Friday, February 14 is the Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index. The index provides information about the level of consumer confidence in the economy.

A drop in consumer confidence could signal uncertainty in the economy, which could have a bearish impact on the BTC price, especially if investors turn to safer assets. At the same time, if low consumer confidence fuels expectations of a rate cut by the Federal Reserve, it could also support BTC prices. BTC trading at $1 on the 81,768D chart Source: BTCUSDT on Tradingview.com Geoffrey Kendrick, head of digital asset research at Standard Chartered Bank, believes that BTC's recent price action suggests that under the current risk-averse market sentiment, BTC, as the leading Crypto asset, may need sovereign states to increase their holdings or a clearer geopolitical situation before it can rise further.

Kendrick noted that BTC is still at risk of further decline in the short term due to macro uncertainties and needs a major catalyst to resume its uptrend.

"The question now is which will come first: a recovery in risk assets, or positive news related to BTC, such as sovereign purchases in the United States or other countries," he wrote.

The possibility of a Fed rate cut remains crucial. If the policy shift is faster than expected, which may occur at the Fed's May meeting, it may stabilize risk markets. Market expectations for a May rate cut have now risen from 50% to 75%, increasing the likelihood of a policy shift that could be beneficial to BTC.