Bitcoin, other cryptos rise after softer-than-expected US CPI data

Bitcoin

US Consumer Price Index (CPI) moderated in February, rising 0.2 percent after surging 0.5 percent in the previous month January.

For the 12 months through February, consumer prices increased 2.8 percent, lower than the 3 percent in January. The headline inflation is still, however, over US Federal Reserve's target of 2 percent.

Crypto prices reacted positively to the CPI data, with bitcoin surging nearly 2 percent to around $83,510 apiece. The largest cryptocurrency had crashed earlier this week after US President Donald Trump's executive order to set up a crypto strategic reserve feel short of investor expectations.

The gain brought some relief to the crypto traders, who have suffered nearly 15 percent loss over the past month, as the euphoria over Trump's election fizzles out.

Solana also jumped nearly 2 percent to trade at $124 apiece. Ripple Labs-linked XRP surged around 4 percent to $2.25 apiece. Trump-ally Elon Musk's favourite memecoin Dogecoin recorded strong gains, rallying over 5 percent to 0.1696.

The CPI data reflects the consumer prices in US ahead of Trump's tariffs. Experts suggest that more people may rush to buy goods such as motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, fearing a rise in prices as more of Trump tariffs take effect.

As inflation cools down, investors anticipate US Federal Reserve's move to ease monetary policies, by possibly lowering interest rates. Such moves have earlier been favourable to cryptocurrencies, reports said.

(with agency inputs)

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