Bitcoin (BTC) edged toward $61,500 into the Oct. 11 Wall Street open as crypto ignored a fresh United States inflation curveball.
BTC/USD 1-hour chart. Source: TradingView
Bitcoin avoids fresh dive as PPI adds to inflation woes
Data from Cointelegraph Markets Pro and TradingView showed new local highs of $61,476 on Bitstamp.
The latest US macro data print in the form of the Producer Price Index (PPI) exceeded estimates across the board, coming in at 1.8% versus the expected 1.6%.
“The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services inched up 0.1 percent in September after rising 0.2 percent in August,” an official press release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) stated.
“For the 12 months ended in September, prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services increased 3.2 percent.”
US PPI 1-month % change. Source: BLS
Thus, the PPI joined the Consumer Price Index (CPI) in signaling an increase in inflationary pressures, the latter already posing a “nightmare” for the Federal Reserve.
Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter leveraged the results to argue that the Fed’s 0.5% interest rate cut last month was unnecessary.
“Both Core PPI and CPI inflation are now officially back on the rise,” it wrote on X.
“The Fed did not need a 50 basis point rate cut.”
Having gained thanks to the Fed’s move, crypto and risk-assets began to diverge this week, with stocks headed higher while Bitcoin and altcoins saw selling pressure.
The PPI print had a modest impact on market expectations for the Fed’s next rate move in November. According to CME Group’s FedWatch Tool, the odds of a smaller 0.25% cut stood at nearly 84% on the day, with a roughly 17% chance of rates staying at current levels.
Fed target rate probabilities. Source: CME Group
Traders state key BTC price levels to watch
Monitoring BTC price action, market observers saw the potential for a retest of resistance higher up the chart.
“Bitcoin reclaimed $60,600/800 overnight,” analyst Justin Bennett wrote in part of his latest X analysis, referencing the recovery from $58,860 lows.
“I never trust an Asia session pump, but If this holds, we could get that $62k retest.”
BTC/USDT perpetual contract 4-hour chart. Source: Justin Bennett/X
Popular trader Roman spied a marked divergence while hoping for a revisit of $65,000 next.
Fellow trader Anbessa, meanwhile, identified two key levels above and below the spot price to watch on short timeframes.
“$63,9k reclaim and s/r flip will lead to a continuation breakout short-term,” he told X followers.
“- $60,2k breakdown could give us another dip (imo final volatile dip).”
BTC/USD 8-hour chart. Source: Anbessa/X
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision.
