According to CryptoPotato, the cryptocurrency market remained relatively flat over the weekend, failing to recover from last week's $300 billion crash. Investors are keenly awaiting this week's Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, a key inflation indicator that could hint at the direction of economic recovery.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before the Senate and the House on Tuesday and Wednesday, primarily focusing on monetary policy. Powell stated last week that despite some progress in curbing inflation, policymakers lack sufficient confidence to initiate rate cuts. However, signs of a weakening job market and easing wage pressures last week have bolstered investor confidence in a potential rate cut in September.
Thursday will see the release of the June CPI report, one of two key indicators used to measure U.S. inflation. The data, which reveals changing price trends, is utilized by the Federal Reserve in its monetary policy decisions.
Friday will witness the release of June's Producer Price Index (PPI) report, which gauges the cost of producing consumer goods. This directly affects retail prices and is another measure of inflationary pressures monitored by policymakers. The Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index and Consumer Inflation Expectations for June are also expected on Friday. These surveys provide data on consumer confidence and long-term inflation perspectives.
In addition to economic reports, this week will also see a series of Q2 earnings reports from some of the nation's major banks.
The cryptocurrency market has been negatively impacted by selling pressure from Mt. Gox redemptions and the German government. The industry's total capitalization fell 3.4% on Monday morning to $2.14 trillion, pushing markets to their lowest levels since late February. Bitcoin dropped to an intraday low of $54,320 on Sunday before slightly recovering towards $57,000. However, the asset appears to remain bearish in the short term, and the correction may not be over yet, even if inflation reports are positive.
Ethereum failed to surpass $3,000 over the weekend, dropping to $2,830 during Monday's Asian trading session. However, at the time of writing, ETH had reclaimed $2,900. As has been the case for most of July, altcoins were predominantly in the red, with many returning to bear market lows.
