Bitcoin
stable at US$67,000 amid signs of interest rate cuts and lower inflation By Investing.com
Investing.com – Bitcoin’s price was little changed on Thursday after a volatile session, as a Federal Reserve forecast of higher interest rates for longer largely overshadowed some signs of cooling inflation in the near term.
The value rose 0.4% in the last 24 hours to $67,484.6 at 02:05 ET (06:05 GMT). The token has seen wild swings this week, rising as high as $70,000 before falling sharply.
Bitcoin Range Limited as Fed Predicts Only One Rate Cut This Year
Traders have remained largely averse to Bitcoin and broader cryptocurrencies in the face of high US interest rates for longer.
Although the Fed kept rates unchanged on Wednesday as expected, Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank now sees the possibility of just one rate cut this year, compared with previous expectations of three cuts.
Several policymakers have also called for not reducing rates this year, saying more progress needs to be made in reducing inflation. The Fed also raised its inflation forecast for the year.
The Fed’s comments came after data released on Wednesday showed that US consumer inflation eased slightly more than expected in May. While Bitcoin made some gains after the inflation reading, it lost ground after the Fed’s comments.
High rates bode poorly for speculative assets such as cryptocurrencies as they limit the amount of liquidity available to invest in the sector. Although recent data on capital flows showed that institutional investors were still investing some money in cryptocurrencies, this was barely reflected in token prices.
The focus is now on inflation data for more insights into US inflation. The reading is scheduled for Thursday.
Crypto Price Today: Altcoins Fall Amid Rate Jitters
The prospect of higher U.S. interest rates for longer has also weighed on broader cryptocurrency prices.
The world’s No. 2 token fell 0.3% to $3,499.09, further giving up the gains made in the previous month.
and rose between 0.6% and 1.7%, but traded lower during the week.
Among meme tokens, it fell 1.6% while rising 3%. But sentiment toward the two has largely cooled, along with waning interest in meme stocks on Wall Street.
GameStop Corp (NYSE:) lost even more ground on Wednesday and erased most of the rally seen in late May.