ETH Volatility Analysis for Balance of Trade, 5th February 2021

Data Analysis

The release

Released by the Bureau of Census, Bureau of Economic Analysis on 5 February 2021 at 8:30 AM EST. The deficit narrowed to $61.9B for December 2020, from $64.3B (The International Trade Balance in Goods and Services).

It arrived at the same moment as International Imports 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.

How Ethereum moved

Ethereum was at $1,673.18 when the figure came out. Fifteen minutes later it was 0.76% higher, and an hour later 2.54% higher. Its high-to-low range in the hour after was 3.7% of its price, against 1% in the hour before.

Measured by Clometrix

Ethereum's volatility ratio was 1.51x, against 1.25x for a typical Balance of Trade release since 2021. Its volume ratio was 1.62x, against a typical 1.41x. That is about what this release usually does. 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.

What made it matter

Since 2021, Balance of Trade releases in the two weeks before a Fed decision have moved Ethereum less than those at other times: a median volatility ratio of 1.14x across 23, against 1.39x across 47. This one was not within two weeks of a Fed decision. Its own ratio of 1.51x compares with 1.39x for those, about what its circumstances would suggest.

Its record

Across 70 Balance of Trade releases since 2021, Ethereum's median volatility ratio is 1.25x.

About International Trade Balance in Goods and Services

The balance of trade (BOT) measures economic transactions between a nation and its trading partners, showing the difference between the value of a country's imports and exports 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 and out of the country. Economists use this information to gauge the relative strength of a country's economy. When exports are higher than imports, it tends to boost GDP. In the opposite scenario, it creates a trade deficit.