Bitcoin traders exercise caution ahead of US Core PCE Price Index release
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- Bitcoin price winds around $28,000 as traders anticipate the release of US Core PCE Price Index data on August 31.
- The consensus is that the Core PCE inflation will rise by 0.1% and come in at 4.2% for July.
- Being the Fed's preferred gauge of inflation, PCE numbers could influence expectations of further rate hikes in the US.
Bitcoin price rallied to $28,100 on Tuesday, in response to Grayscale’s victory against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in its spot Bitcoin ETF lawsuit. Since then, BTC price wiped out its gains, declining to $27,300 as traders exercised caution ahead of the August 31 release of US Core PCE Price Index for July.
The data could make or break Bitcoin’s run up to the $30,000 level as US Core PCE is considered the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge and the market expectation is for an annual rate of 4.2% for July, against Fed’s 2% target for inflation.
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Fed’s preferred inflation gauge could determine the direction of Bitcoin price trend
The US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) is set to release Core Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) Price Index on Thursday, August 31 at 12:30 GMT. As we move closer to the data release, the market’s expectation is a 0.1% increase to send Core PCE YoY rate for July to 4.2%.
An increase above market expectations adds to the likelihood of an interest rate hike by the Fed in September. If the increase in Core PCE rate is 0.1% or lower, it points at a slowdown in inflation and less likelihood of interest rate hikes.
Bitcoin traders are likely to benefit from a slowdown in inflation, as leverage becomes cheaper and capital inflow to BTC and risk assets increases.
Bitcoin price rally to $30,000 therefore relies on the data release, as crypto traders continue to closely monitor macroeconomic indicators.
At the time of writing, BTC price is up 5% over the past week and noted a 1.27% drop on the day, on Binance.
