Bitcoin fell below $17,000 on Dec. 16, as bearish pressure continued to intensify following yesterday’s disappointing U.S. retail sales figures. Sales in the United States were down by 0.6%, which news came less than 24 hours after the Federal Reserve moved to hike interest rates. Ethereum moved closer to the $1,200 level in today’s session.

Bitcoin

Bitcoin (BTC) fell below $17,000 in today’s session, as markets continued to react to last month’s retail sales data.

As retail sales in the United States disappointed, BTC/USD slipped to an intraday low of $16,997.54 earlier in the day.

This comes less than a day after prices were nearing a breakout of $18,000, hitting a peak of $17,725.88 in the process.

Looking at the chart, bearish pressure intensified following a breakout of a floor at $17,200, with the price now trading $17,023.22.

This slight reversal comes as the 14-day relative strength index (RSI) moved close to a support point of 45.00.

The index is currently tracking at the 47.05 level, and should price strength hit the aforementioned floor, BTC could land at $16,800.

Ethereum

Ethereum (ETH) was also lower on Friday, as the world’s second largest cryptocurrency fell closer to the $1,200 mark.

ETH/USD hit a bottom of $1,210.35 earlier in the day, which comes after trading at a high of $1,291.32 on Thursday.

Today’s drop sees ethereum move lower for a third consecutive session, breaking out of a key resistance level of $1,230 in the process.

As of writing, ETH is nearly 5% lower than yesterday’s peak, with the RSI tracking at 43.50, which is near a key floor.

This point of support is at the 42.00 mark, and hasn’t been reached since November 28, when ETH was below $1,200.

Should price strength continue to head towards this bottom, there is a strong possibility that ethereum will be trading under $1,200.

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Could we see ethereum bulls reenter the market this weekend? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.