U.S. inflation slowed last month, possibly strengthening a widely held narrative that the worst of consumer-price increases is behind the economy.
The consumer price index (CPI) surged 8.5% in July on a year-over-year basis, though it was unchanged from the previous month, partly thanks to lower energy prices, a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed. The annual figure compared to an average estimate of 8.7% in a survey of economists by FactSet.
Stripping out food and energy prices because of their strong volatility, core CPI remained unchanged at 5.9% over the past 12 months, slightly missing expectations of 6.1%.
Most cryptocurrencies across the board declined on Tuesday in anticipation of the report, with bitcoin dropping about 4% to 23,100k after rising above $24k on Monday. Ethereum (ETH) fell more than 5%.
“I think the market will continue to find confidence in the Fed staying on track with its proposed increases to the interest rates at the September meeting and we will continue to see our relief rally pick up steam in the crypto market,” said Howard Greenberg, cryptocurrency educator at Prosper Trading Academy.
