Strong jobs data pushes Bitcoin below $64,000

Weekly initial jobless claims fell to 226,000 for the week ending June 13, and the unemployment rate held at 4.3% for a third consecutive month. Bitcoin traded below $64,000 after reaching an intraday high of $66,315 the previous afternoon.

Continuing claims rose by about 24,000 to roughly 1.81 million. The average duration of unemployment increased to 11.6 weeks, the longest reading since late 2021. Employment data for May showed nonfarm payrolls increased by 172,000, leaving the three-month average near 188,000.

The Federal Open Market Committee meeting on June 17 left the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50% to 3.75%. The committee’s median projection for the end of 2026 rose to 3.8% from 3.4% in March. Nine of 18 participants now expect at least one rate increase this year. Chair Kevin Warsh removed easing language from the policy statement and told reporters the committee would “deliver price stability.” The Fed raised its year-end personal consumption expenditures inflation forecast to 3.6% from 2.7% after May’s consumer price index showed inflation at 4.2%.

Market pricing shifted after the Fed projections and the jobs reports. Futures traders pushed the probability of a December rate increase toward about 85%. The two-year Treasury yield rose roughly 16 basis points to near 4.22%. The dollar index reached its highest level in more than a year.

Traders use labor-market readings as input for forecasts of the Fed’s policy path. Stronger employment metrics tend to lower the likelihood of near-term rate cuts, support higher real yields and a stronger dollar, and can reduce demand for longer-duration speculative assets.

On the trading day that followed the reports, Bitcoin declined nearly 3% and spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds recorded a net outflow of $82.2 million on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve removed forward guidance from its statement. Upcoming releases of CPI, PCE, payrolls and weekly claims will be considered fresh inputs for policy decisions and may affect Treasury yields, the dollar and ETF flows.