Price of Bitcoin The market was thrown into a tizzy on Friday, as China responded to U.S. president Donald Trump’s new tariffs by imposing its own. Investors also pondered the latest labor data.
According to crypto data providers, the leading cryptocurrency changed hands recently below $83,000. This represents a 1% rise over the previous day. CoinGecko. Bitcoin reached $84,600 in the morning Eastern Time on Friday before falling to $81,700 half an hour later.
The major altcoins are mostly in the positive zone. XRP is up more than 6%, and Solana has risen by nearly 4%.
China plans on imposing a 34% import tax on all U.S. products next Thursday, a day after Trump’s latest tariffs take effect, Beijing's Finance Ministry The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other. The Ministry called the President’s trade-related remarks “a typical unilateral bully practice.”
China’s Commerce Ministry also said that 11 U.S.-based firms will be banned from doing business with China as they are “unreliable companies” while 16 other U.S. businesses have been added to the export control list.
China is now the second biggest trading partner of the United States. Trump slapped a tariff 34% on top an existing 20% for Chinese goods on Wednesday. Trump closed the “de minimis loophole” that exempted packages under $800 of additional duties.
Following Trump’s “Liberation Day,” the S&P 500 had its worst day since June 2020, as stocks dropped globally on Thursday. Equities continued swooning on Friday, with the tech-heavy Nasdaq set to close in a bear market—or fall 20% from its record high.
“The S&P 500 is down roughly 5% this week as investors brace for trade-driven earnings headwinds,” David Hernandez, a crypto investment specialist at crypto asset manager 21Shares, told Decrypt. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has displayed impressive resilience.
But ING's Chief International Economist, James Knightley, told Decrypt The escalation of Trump’s Trade War largely obscures the massive job growth that occurred in March.
“It's ancient history, given the situation we are in now,” he said. “We're in a new environment where post-tariff announcements, the economic environment is looking much more challenging.”
Department of Labor The following are some of the ways to get in touch with each other According to a report released on Friday, nonfarm payrolls were up 228,000 jobs in March, exceeding the forecast by economists of 135,000. Trading EconomicsThe rate of unemployment has increased from 4,1% to 4,2% since February.
Knightley said the plummeting stock prices, worries about tariffs and Elon Musk’s initiative to cut costs would hinder growth more than an increase in the unemployment rate.
The number of job losses announced by employers in the U.S. in March was 275.240, up 205% from one year earlier. You can also read about it here A Thursday report Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The The firm provides outplacement services. Musk was the driving force behind these cuts Department of Government EfficiencyDo you want to know more about DOGE?
Knightley warned that “the economic outlook is much gloomier and the jobs figures will be much worse in coming months.”
In a speech at a business journalists' conference in Arlington, Virginia Friday, U.S. central bank Chair Jerome Powell noted potential tariff-related challenges ahead that could complicate the Federal Reserves decisions on interest rate cuts that Trump has been demanding.
"Higher tariffs will be working their way through our economy and are likely to raise inflation in the coming quarters," Powell said, adding that the Federal Reserve was "well positioned to wait for greater clarity before considering any adjustments to our policy stance."
"It is too soon to say what will be the appropriate path for monetary policy," he said.
UPDATE (4 April 2025 12:52 PM ET ET): Powell’s remarks are added.
James Rubin, Editor
