Bitcoin price reacts as 3.7% CPI sees inflation jump beyond forecasts

Bitcoin (BTC) saw snap volatility on Sept. 13 as United States macroeconomic data showed inflation beating expectations.

Fuel, shelter boost August CPI beyond target

Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView followed BTC price action as it threatened a fresh loss of the $26,000 mark.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) print for August came in at 3.7% year-on-year — 0.1% higher than forecast.

“The index for gasoline was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over half of the increase,” part of an official press release from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics read.

“Also contributing to the August monthly increase was continued advancement in the shelter index, which rose for the 40th consecutive month.”

Earlier on the day, crypto market participants had warned that a “hot” CPI reading would pressure the market, as it would imply that inflation remained more stubborn than hoped. This, in turn, could have implications for how restrictive economic policy remains in the future.

CPI in 1 hour.

Tip: Don’t open positions into news announcements and wait 30 mins after data is out to start trading.

Previous: 3.2%
Est: 3.6%

– 3.5% or lower: $BTC will likely hit the liquidity zone at $26800.
– 3.7% or higher: Asian pump likely to get retraced.

— CrypNuevo (@CrypNuevo) September 13, 2023

“I think in next CPI we see +4% with the gasoline prices going up this fast,” popular trader CrypNuevo told subscribers on X (formerly Twitter) in part of a reaction.

“Inflation is still a problem, and a big problem in this second half of the year.”

CPI was already forecast to beat its July year-on-year figure, with August at 3.6% versus the previous 3.2%.

Bitcoin bid liquidity sticks to $25,000 and below

Prior to the release, Keith Alan, co-founder of on-chain monitoring resource Material Indicators, was optimistic about the week’s BTC price momentum holding out.

Related: GBTC ‘discount’ hits smallest since 2021 despite BTC price at 3-month lows

“The strength of BTC momentum has faded a bit since yesterday, but so far it’s still strong enough to hold on to most of what was reclaimed after the bounce,” part of an X post read.

Alan reiterated that “lots of technical resistance” remained above the current spot price range, this coming in the form of multiple daily moving averages.

With the Wall Street open still to come, volatility was in play, with BTC/USD lacking a clear trend at the time of writing.

An accompanying snapshot of the BTC/USDT order book on the largest global exchange, Binance, showed only modest liquidity surrounding the spot price, with more bids parked at $25,000.

Collect this article as an NFT to preserve this moment in history and show your support for independent journalism in the crypto space.