Bitcoin surges above $20K after 6% BTC rally gains steam ahead of the monthly close

cointelegraph.com:

Bitcoin (BTC) swiftly climbed above $20,000 after the Sept. 30 Wall Street open as end-of-month volatility began. 

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed BTC/USD gaining 3% in a single hourly candle to hit local highs of $20,171 on Bitstamp.

The move followed predictions from traders, who were looking for slightly higher levels to precede a fresh downside move.

"Moving my stop to my entry now at 19.3k but letting it ride first to 21.7k where I think there's some major resistance," popular trader Pentoshi wrote in part of a fresh Twitter update about his trading plans.

"Looks like strength to me," trading account IncomeSharks continued.

Fellow trader Cheds called $20,000 a "pivot," focusing attention on the psychologically significant level, having previously flagged declining U.S. dollar strength — a classic catalyst for risk asset performance. 

The downturn in the U.S. dollar index (DXY) continued on the day, approaching 112 points after meeting resistance during a rebound.

A further macro catalyst came in the form of United States Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index (PCE) data, which came in hotter than expected, increasing pressure on the Federal Reserve.

In Europe, record Consumer Price Index (CPI) readings caused shock for some, highlights including The Netherlands' 17.1% year-on-year increase.

With hours to go until the September monthly candle close, meanwhile, eyes were firmly on whether bulls could stay the course.

Related: Bitcoin profitability for long-term holders declines to 4-year low: Data

Whether BTC/USD would finish the month up or down versus the start remained open to interpretation, as did the fate of monthly support.

At press time, the pair was 0.35% higher than on Sep. 1 — still