Bitcoin price stays below $24,000 as PCE data helps US dollar near 7-week highs
Bitcoin (BTC) remained lower at the opening of Wall Street on February 24 as US macroeconomic data showed that inflation was biting back.
PCE raises new doubts about inflation
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC/USD as it traded in a limiting area around $23,800.
The pair saw an attempt to recover $24,500 the previous day, but this ultimately proved unsuccessful as resistance kept the winnings at bay.
Still, Bitcoin saw only a muted reaction to the latest US Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index print, which at 4.7% versus the 4.3% forecast suggested that inflation was not ebbing as quickly as hoped.
For popular commentator Tedtalksmacro, this was reason for the Federal Reserve to consider a major rate hike at its March meeting – a potential headwind for risk assets including crypto.
“Here comes the speculation of 50 bps in March,” he argued in part of a Twitter reaction.
Focusing on BTC/USD itself, Cointelegraph contributor Michaël van de Poppe, meanwhile, remained bullish on the near-term outlook.
“Markets continue to have a regular correction within an uptrend,” he wrote next to a chart with significant levels highlighted.
“As long as Bitcoin remains above $22K, this will be sufficient to expect continuation towards $25K+.”
Monitoring of resource material indicators knew resistance on the Binance order book is rising above the spot price, with most support at $23,000.
Popular trader and analyst Rekt Capital additionally showed that BTC/USD was trying to hold a trendline that was recently reversed to intraday timeframe support.
“There hasn’t been a third consecutive retest yet, but BTC is still holding above the lower high resistance,” he tweeted.
“If this price stability continues here, one could argue that price is declining on the sell side towards this new Lower High support.”
US dollar challenges 2023 high
US stocks fell more markedly on the PCE print, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite Index down 1.4% and 1.7% respectively at time of writing.
Related: Bitcoin Needs to Leverage $1T Central Bank Liquidity to Beat Sellers – Research
The US dollar index (DXY) had a welcome boost, rising to 105.3 on the day, its highest since January 6.
DXY weakness had marked much of the crypto comeback in January, this reversal in February in line with increased difficulties for Bitcoin bulls eager to hold on to 50%+ gains.
“The US Dollar Index DXY is moving further into the cloud of the 200-day moving average,” Caleb Franzen, senior market analyst at Cubic Analytics, wrote in part of a Twitter digest.
Franzen added that the DXY “could see more upside within this range, but the entire range is potential resistance.”
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed herein are those of the authors alone and do not necessarily reflect or represent the views and opinions of Cointelegraph.
