Hassan Maishera
TL;DR
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BTC dropped below $59k on Thursday following the CPI news.
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It is now trading above $60k once again, up more than 1% in the last few hours.
Higher-than-expected CPI Inflation Causes Bitcoin to Slump
Bitcoin continued its poor performance on Thursday, but this time, it was fueled by the CPI figures. The leading cryptocurrency by market cap was trading above $60k but immediately dropped below $59k following a slightly higher-than-expected U.S. inflation print and a rise in weekly jobless claims.
The poor performance saw BTC hit a weekly low of $58,900. The U.S. Labor Department published the U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Thursday. The CPI increased by 0.2% in September, marginally exceeding expectations of a 0.1% rise. Higher food costs caused the increased CPI, but the annual inflation rate still recorded its smallest increase in over three years, indicating a slowing inflation rate in the country.
Furthermore, the United States also recorded a rise in weekly jobless claims, increasing uncertainty over the economic outlook. This resulted in Bitcoin and stocks underperforming, with BTC dropping below $59k for the first time this month.
Bitcoin has since recovered and is now trading above $60k once again. At press time, Bitcoin’s price is $60,789 and could rally higher in the near term.
