U.S. Inflation Cools: May CPI Rises Just 0.1%—Below Forecasts

Inflation surprise: The U.S. consumer price index barely ticked up last month, dodging Wall Street’s gloomier predictions.

Why it matters: When CPI underperforms, traders start betting the Fed will loosen its grip—and crypto bulls start licking their chops.

The cynical take: Another ‘transitory’ win for the money printers—until next month’s ‘unexpected’ spike, of course.

Markets hold to rate-cut outlook

Bitcoin rose about 0.6% in the moments following the news, trading at $109,800, up 0.3% over the past 24 hours.

Despite continued uncertainty around inflation’s trajectory, the market remains confident that the Federal Reserve will begin easing policy later this year. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders are fully pricing in two rate cuts, with the first expected in September and the second in December.