- Market participants had expected a reading closer to 0.4%.
- The price of Bitcoin (BTC) is $28,314 which is a 2% gain in the last 24 hours.
There was a 0.3% rise in U.S. inflation as measured by the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) Price Index in February. This follows a report from the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Market participants had expected a reading closer to 0.4%.
Core PCE increased by 4.6% over the last 12 months, which is somewhat slower than the rate reported in January. The headline PCE figures for February showed a monthly increase of 0.3% and annual growth of 5%, down from January’s 0.6% and 5.3%, respectively.
Monthly statistics provided a lighter set of figures than expected, with energy costs falling by 0.4% and food prices growing by 0.2%. Goods had a 0.2% rise, while services saw a 0.3% increase in price.
All Eyes on Federal Reserve
Inflation rates may be falling in certain industries, but they remain stubbornly high in others. In particular, housing costs have increased dramatically. The Federal Reserve, however, reports that policymakers are now looking beyond that since they expect a reduction in rent hikes throughout the year.
Despite this, authorities have emphasized that they are dedicated to lowering prices despite the current financial crisis in the nation and that they anticipate inflation to continue substantially over the Fed’s 2% aim beyond 2024. All eyes are now on how the Fed decides the interest rate.
There was a little increase in the value of cryptocurrencies after the release of the inflation data. The current market price of a single Bitcoin (BTC) is $28,314, a 2% gain in the last 24 hours. The price of Ethereum (ETH) increased by 3% and is now trading at $1,822 as per CMC.
