Bitcoin (BTC/USD) bounced back from a 5-day low of $354 on BTC-e, jumping to as high as $386 on Bitcoin Black Friday before settling at $373 on BTC-e.

The pair continues to struggle making progress past the $380’s, which have not been surpassed in nearly two weeks despite multiple attempts.

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While the improved price action has kept BTC healthily above its 50-day moving average (MA)- itself rising again as prices have stopped their intermediate-term fall- the formidable $380 barrier signals that a recovery rally is not in the cards right now.

At the same time, BTC has shown a recent aversion to any point below its $360 support level, thus forming a tightening range around $370. In the past, such flattening behavior- which can continue for weeks- was a precursor to the next major move.

Volume has trailed off from 1000 BTC/hour during the spike to below 200.

This past Bitcoin Black Friday was expected to be the biggest ever. As shoppers required bitcoins to participate in the deals, in theory there should have been a spike in bitcoin demand, driving prices upward. Whether such demand was responsible for the aforementioned spike- which was pretty average for bitcoin trading standards- is unclear. Either way, its effect seems to have since waned.

Prices on BTC-e are about $4 (1.1%) lower relative to peers.