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Key US Inflation Gauge Slips to Slowest Pace in 6 Months, Bitcoin Rises
Core CPI, which excludes energy and food prices, rose 0.1% last month, the slowest pace since February.
Updated May 11, 2023, 3:37 p.m. Published Sep 14, 2021, 12:41 p.m.
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The U.S. Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.3% last month, falling short of the 0.4% increase expected by economists.
The consumer price index rose 5.3% over the past 12 months, below economists’ average prediction of a 5.4% increase. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 0.1% last month, lower than economists’ expectation of 0.3% growth and the slowest increase the U.S. has seen in six months.
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Bitcoin’s price rose $690, or 1.5%, to $46,501 since the CPI report was published at 8:30 a.m. ET (12:30 UTC).
The soft inflation report may encourage the U.S. central bank to keep its stimulus program, known as “quantitative easing,” or QE, longer than expected. Many cryptocurrency investors speculate that QE could weaken the dollar, pushing up the value of bitcoin, which has a capped supply. Bitcoin is also still seen on Wall Street as a speculative asset, and the bet is that more investors will be forced to seek such investments as QE suppresses returns in traditional bond markets.
While August’s lower-than-expected numbers may be regarded as a positive sign for transitory inflation, they could also be a sign of increasing macroeconomic uncertainty as COVID-19 variants fill hospitals even in highly vaccinated countries. Airline fares fell dramatically, and decreasing hotel prices weighed on the shelter index.
”At the margin, the recent data will dampen some of the more excitable inflation forecasts in the markets and at the Fed,” Ian Shepherdson, chief economist for the forecasting firm Pantheon, wrote to clients in an email.
On a month-over-month basis:
- Used-vehicles prices declined by 1.5%, continuing July’s trend of supply-side inflation wearing off, when prices for used autos increased by only 0.2%.
- Airline fares declined sharply by 9.1%, compared with July’s decrease of 0.1%.
- Shelter rose 0.2%, compared with a 0.4% increase in July.
- The food index increased by 3.7%, compared with July’s 0.7% increase.
- The energy index increased by 2% with the gasoline index rising by 2.8%.
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KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market.
What to know:
- KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025, equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month, marking its strongest year on record.
- This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume, as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes, which slowed during periods of lower market volatility.
- Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split, each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line.
- Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity, reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover.
- Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity, indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes.
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Key bitcoin price levels to watch as downward pressure builds
As bitcoin remains in a downtrend, several technical and onchain levels stand out as critical areas of support.
What to know:
- The 100-week moving average at $87,145 remains the main line of defense.
- Below this, the cost basis of U.S. spot bitcoin ETF buyers at $84,099 has provided support during recent consolidation.
- A sustained break below $80,000 would likely open the door to a revisit of the April 2025 low near $76,000.
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