The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has published this month’s data for the Consumer Price Index.
As is normally the case, this has caused some volatility within the cryptocurrency markets.
- In June, the CPI for all urban consumers fell 0.1%, seasonally adjusted
- This represents a change of 3% over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted.
- On the news, Bitcoin’s price shot up to almost $60K amid increased volatility. It has retraced to where it currently trades at around $59,200.
Jag Kooner, head of derivatives at Bitfinex, spoke to CryptoPotato and weighed in on the importance of the CPI for the performance of the broader cryptocurrency market.
He outlined that te consensus had been for the CPI to remain unchanged, but it actually fell by 0.1%. This, he said, supports the narrative of inflation slowing down:
A lower-than-expected CPI reading today could indeed tip BTC into moving along with risk assets, as it would support the narrative of slowing inflation and a potential rate cut. Investors will closely monitor Fed communications and market reactions to today’s CPI release and upcoming Fed meetings to gauge the alignment of BTC with equities. However, we believe that a single inflation print would not undo the supply overhang concerns for Bitcoin which would take some more time for the market to price in completely.
