Bitcoin retreats after softer US inflation briefly lifts prices

Bitcoin jumped about 1.3% to $64,500 after July US CPI data showed inflation cooling modestly, but the move quickly faded as prices fell below $64,000.

Consumer prices rose 3.4% from a year earlier, compared with 3.5% in June, while the monthly CPI increased 0.1% after declining 0.4% in the prior month, according to data released by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Underlying inflation also moderated, with the core CPI rising 0.2% in July and 2.5% annually, down from 2.6% in June. Shelter prices accounted for roughly two-thirds of the monthly CPI gain, making housing the largest contributor to inflation.

The data showed that inflation remains sticky in several categories despite overall moderation.

CPI lands clean, but Bitcoin still needs a catalyst

July CPI gave Bitcoin bulls some breathing room, but analysts say the market still needs a stronger catalyst to break out.

According to Sygnum Bank CIO Fabian Dori, the report signals gradual cooling without a recession scare or fresh hawkish repricing.

“September rate odds should stay roughly stable, leaving the macro backdrop for risk assets largely unchanged. Attention therefore stays on the structural liquidity factors that matter over the medium term — the direction of Treasury cash balances, eSLR effects, private credit creation, and stablecoin adoption,” Dori noted.

He expects Thursday’s Producer Price Index to offer another read on pipeline goods-price pressures, while continued easing in energy prices could support digital assets without requiring a Fed policy pivot.

The latest inflation data did little to resolve the uncertainty following last week’s weak payrolls report, DWF Labs Managing Partner Andrei Grachev commented.

“On the end-August expiry, downside strikes near $60,000 have been costing more than equivalent upside strikes near $70,000. That gap has persisted through quiet data, which points to caution about the broader policy path rather than any single print,” Grachev stated.

“Upside exposure at $70,000 has been rebuilt at the same time, so the book is constructive while the pricing remains defensive. Tomorrow’s PPI is the next check on whether that premium starts to ease,” he added.