Analysis: July Inflation Data Unlikely to Push Bitcoin Up

Odaily Planet Daily News The market has already expected that the Federal Reserve will not raise interest rates further this year, and has begun to digest the expectation of a rate cut in 2024. Bitcoin bulls are hoping for continued good news on U.S. inflation as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics releases its July Consumer Price Index (CPI) report on Thursday morning. Economists expected a 0.2% month-on-month increase, the same as in June. Year-over-year growth is forecast at 3.3%, up from the 3% forecast in June. Unadjusted headline inflation, which includes often volatile food and energy prices, peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 and 8.5% in July last year. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, is expected to come in at 0.2% in July, unchanged from June. Annual core CPI growth is expected to slow to 4.7% from 4.8%. The core CPI peaked at 6.5% in March 2022, compared with an annual level of 5.9% in July a year ago. While the Federal Reserve’s tightening policy was partly responsible for Bitcoin’s price crash, a slowdown, and possibly even an end, has also been seen as a factor in Bitcoin’s modest recovery. Short-term interest rate traders have already priced in no rate hikes from the Fed this year, although low CPI data on Thursday may reinforce that view. Forecasts for next year from the CME Group show traders expect the Fed to cut interest rates as early as February. (CoinDesk)