Bitcoin Price Outlook for October — Strong Dollar and Fed Rate Hike Gives Bears the Advantage

Ten days into October, and ahead of this Wednesday’s U.S. inflation report, bitcoin prices fell to a one-week low. Prices of the world’s leading crypto asset were mostly in the red during September, trading below $20,000 for the majority of the month. As of writing, bitcoin continues to hover at these lows, with many traders wondering whether we will see any significant surge this month.

Current Market Status

Last week U.S. non-farm payrolls showed that 263,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy in September, better than the 250,000 markets had expected.

This data was positive for an already strong U.S. dollar, which has been one of the main reasons behind the recent decline in prices.

As USD gained against the majority of G-7 currencies, prices of commodities, and cryptocurrencies declined, as demand weakened.

On Wednesday, traders will be glued to their screens awaiting the release of the U.S. inflation report, which could impact the Federal Reserve’s upcoming policy decisions.

Many believe that the Fed could raise rates by an additional 75 basis points (bps), which will likely further strengthen the greenback.

October Outlook

As of writing this, BTC/USD is currently trading below $20,000, at a price of $19,259.97, which is marginally below a floor of $19,300.

The move below this floor comes after another point of support was broken, with the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) now moving under its 46.30 point.

Looking at the chart, the next stop for the index appears to be 43.00, and should this mark be hit, BTC will likely be under $19,000.

As bitcoin (BTC) continues to move lower, the 10-day (red) moving average is now starting to shift course, with a previous upwards crossover, beginning to turn bearish.

Should this momentum continue to move downward, then we could see bitcoin move toward June’s low of $17,895.