BTC below $17,000 as ETH nears $1,200 breakout – Market Updates Bitcoin News
Bitcoin fell below $17,000 on December 16, as bearish pressure continued to intensify following yesterday’s disappointing US retail sales numbers. Sales in the US fell 0.6%, which came less than 24 hours after the Federal Reserve moved to raise interest rates. Ethereum moved closer to the $1,200 level in today’s session.
Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $17,000 in today’s session as markets continued to react to last month’s retail sales data.
As US retail sales disappointed, BTC/USD fell to an intraday low of $16,997.54 earlier in the day.
This comes less than a day after prices neared a breakout of $18,000, hitting a high of $17,725.88 in the process.
Looking at the chart, the bearish pressure intensified after a breakout of a $17,200 floor, with the price now trading at $17,023.22.
This weak reversal comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) moved near a support point of 45.00.
The index is currently following the 47.05 level, and if price strength hits the aforementioned floor, BTC could land at $16,800.
Ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) was also lower on Friday, as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency fell closer to the $1,200 mark.
ETH/USD touched a low of $1,210.35 earlier in the day, which comes after trading to a high of $1,291.32 on Thursday.
Today’s drop sees Ethereum move lower for a third session in a row, breaking out of a key resistance level at $1,230 in the process.
At the time of writing, ETH is almost 5% lower than yesterday’s peak, with the RSI tracking at 43.50, which is close to a key floor.
This support point is at 42.00, and has not been reached since November 28, when ETH was below $1,200.
Should price strength continue to move towards this bottom, there is a strong possibility that ethereum will trade below $1,200.
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Could we see Ethereum bulls re-enter the market this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
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