US Inflation Holds Steady, Fueling Rate-Hike Bets and Surge in Crypto Prices

The US inflation data for August was released on Friday, showing that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained steady at 3.4% in line with consensus estimates.

This news led to a surge in rate-hike bets, with market participants pricing in an 87% chance of a Fed interest rate hike in the 3.75%-4.00% range next Wednesday, up from 72% the previous day.

BTC is gaining ground and approaching $79,000 on Friday, following the release of the US inflation data. Gold has climbed to $4,367 after opening at $4,317, but is trading in a broad sideways range with support near $4,300 and resistance around $4,500.

Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO, said that today's CPI keeps a 25-basis-point Fed hike in September as his base case. He expects the Fed to hike once and then pause rather than begin a sustained tightening cycle.