Bitcoin slips below $80,000 after US jobless claims fall to 189,000

Claims for the week ending October 31 fell by 6,000, below economists’ expectation of 196,000. The previous week’s figure was revised to 195,000. Weekly claims have stayed at or below 200,000 for eight consecutive weeks, according to the Associated Press, while the four-week average declined to 194,750. Continuing claims, which track people receiving unemployment benefits, rose by 23,000 to 1.718 million, Reuters reported—a sign that relatively few workers are being laid off, but some jobseekers may be taking longer to find work.

Bitcoin was trading around $79,356, up 1.3% over 24 hours, according to CoinGecko. It had briefly risen above $80,500 before losing momentum. The pullback followed a recovery from a selloff around the US midterm elections, when the price briefly approached $75,600.

A resilient labor market could give the Fed more room to keep borrowing costs elevated as it assesses inflation, potentially reducing the urgency of further rate cuts and weighing on risk assets. The central bank held its benchmark rate at 3.75% to 4% at its October meeting. Investors are watching for more employment data, including the October jobs report due November 6. FactSet-surveyed economists expect about 65,000 jobs to have been added, with unemployment at 4.2%.

US spot Bitcoin ETFs took in a net $74.6 million on November 4, ending three sessions of outflows. Fund flows were uneven: Fidelity’s FBTC attracted $236.7 million, while BlackRock’s IBIT saw $201.2 million in outflows. About $378 million in bearish cryptocurrency positions were liquidated within an hour during the price recovery.

Bitcoin’s nearest support was identified at $79,000 to $79,500, with $78,000 a possible next level if prices fell below that range. To regain momentum, buyers would need to reclaim $80,000 and move through $80,500 to $80,800.