BTC Volatility Analysis for International Imports, 3rd November 2017

Data Analysis

Measured by Clometrix

Bitcoin's volatility ratio was 1.57x, against 1.10x for a typical International Imports release since 2021. Its volume ratio was 0.82x, against a typical 1.22x. That is a strong reaction by this release's own standard. Both compare the quarter hour of the release with an ordinary quarter hour that same day, where 1.00x is no change: volatility is how far the price ranged, volume how much traded.

How Bitcoin moved

Bitcoin was at $7,205.70 when the figure came out. Fifteen minutes later it was 1.14% higher, and an hour later 0.25% lower. Its high-to-low range in the hour after was 2.23% of its price, against 1.21% in the hour before.

The release

Released by the Bureau of Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis on 3 November 2017 at 8:30 AM EDT. The International Imports in Goods and Services rose to $242.7B for September 2017, from $240.3B in August 2017.

It arrived at the same moment as International Trade Balance in Goods and Services, International Exports in Goods and Services, Non-Farm Payrolls, Non-Farm Private Payrolls and Unemployment Rate, so the reaction measured on this page belongs to all of them together.

What made it matter

Since 2021, International Imports releases in the two weeks before a Fed decision have moved Bitcoin less than those at other times: a median volatility ratio of 0.97x across 23, against 1.25x across 47. This one came out 2 days after the Federal Reserve's 1 November rate decision. Its own ratio of 1.57x compares with 1.25x for those, so it moved the price more than its circumstances alone would suggest.

Its record

Across 70 International Imports releases since 2021, Bitcoin's median volatility ratio is 1.10x.

About International Imports in Goods and Services

International Imports measures economic transactions between a nation and its trading partners, showing the amount of a country's imports for a given period. The BEA and Census Bureau reports on the U.S. balance of payments (BOP), covering goods and services that move in to the country. Economists use this information to gauge the relative strength of a country's economy.