Fed Rate Cut Delayed as Strong Jobs Data Tests Bitcoin

Citigroup pushed its forecast for the Fed first interest rate cut to June 2027 after US employers added 162,000 jobs in August, more than triple the 53,000 economists had penciled in.

The revision extends the timeline for lower borrowing costs by nine months.Now, it opens a question Bitcoin traders have been circling all year: how much longer can a resilient labor market keep real yields, the dollar, and interest rates elevated before it actually breaks risk-asset demand?The August payrolls report did more than beat expectations on the headline number.

The unemployment rate held at 4.1%, labor-force participation rose 0.2 percentage point, and prior months were revised sharply higher: July payrolls flipped from a reported loss of 23,000 to a gain of 21,000, while June was revised up by 11,000.

Citi economists Andrew Hollenhorst and Veronica Clark concluded that employment conditions looked stable enough for the Federal Reserve to shift its attention squarely to inflation.Citi had previously been one of the more dovish desks on Wall Street, calling for cuts in October and December 2026 and January 2027.