TLDR

  • In January, the U.S. ISM Manufacturing PMI leaped to 52.6%, exceeding the expectation of 48.5% and registering the highest reading since August 2022.
  • After hitting a yearly low of $75,000 the previous day, the price of Bitcoin climbed 2.76% following the release of the PMI.
  • The PMI score brought to an end 26 consecutive months of contraction in U.S. manufacturing activity.
  • The New Orders Index soared to 57.1% from 47.4% in December, while the Production Index reached 55.9%.
  • Some analysts believe that historically, the PMI reversal signals better conditions for Bitcoin and risk assets.

The U.S. manufacturing sector presented its strongest performance in more than two years. The Institute for Supply Management Manufacturing PMI reached 52.6% in January 2025.

The reading surpassed market expectations by a large margin. Analysts had predicted a score of 48.5%.

Following the release of the economic data, Bitcoin was traded at $78,565. The cryptocurrency gained 2.76% within 24 hours after the PMI announcement.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price

The ISM score indicates the first expansion in manufacturing activity after 26 months of contraction. Any reading above 50 implies economic expansion.

The last time the index reached this level was in August 2022. That period coincided with different market conditions for Bitcoin.

The New Orders Index jumped to 57.1% from 47.4% in December. This represents the highest level since February 2024.

Production activity continued its growth for the third month. The Production Index was at 55.9% in January.

Bitcoin Price Movement Follows Economic Data

had dropped to $75,000 the previous day. This marked a new low for 2025.

The cryptocurrency recovered after the release of the manufacturing data. Trading data from TradingView confirmed the price movement.

Susan Spence chairs the ISM committee. She ascribed the recovery to the improved demand conditions across the manufacturing sector.

The Prices Index reached 59.0% in January. This shows elevated input costs for U.S. manufacturers.

Supplier deliveries dropped to 54.4%. This pattern usually appears when demand increases.

Employment in manufacturing remained in the contraction range at 48.1%. However, this demonstrated improvement from 44.8% in December.

Some market analysts noticed historical patterns between the PMI and Bitcoin. The movements of the manufacturing index from mid-2020 through 2023 followed similar patterns to Bitcoin price changes.

Joe Burnett serves as the vice president of Bitcoin strategy at Strive. He pointed out that Bitcoin rallied after PMI reversals in 2013, 2016, and 2020.

Other analysts expressed caution about making direct connections. Benjamin Cowen founded Into The Cryptoverse and noted that Bitcoin doesn’t always move in tandem with the manufacturing index.

Bitcoin has declined nearly 38% from its October high. The cryptocurrency reached $126,080 before the recent downturn.

Financial markets reacted rapidly to the manufacturing data. Risk assets witnessed increased activity after the announcement.

The ISM report indicated that all five subindexes improved in January. This broad-based improvement reflected stronger conditions across the manufacturing sector.