The first data was announced in the critical week for Bitcoin and altcoins. Although PPI data came above expectations on a monthly basis, it came in line with expectations on an annual basis.
Although the BTC price experienced a momentary decrease after the data announcement, the price was not affected much.
FED President Jerome Powell, the second biggest event of the week after the PPI data, started his speech at the Dutch Foreign Bankers Association panel.
Stating that the US economy is performing well, Powell said that the US economy remains resilient despite the strong labor market.
Powell signaled that there is no possibility of a possible interest rate increase, saying that the FED will continue to analyze next quarter economic data and fight inflation to reach the 2% target.
Powell, who thinks that restrictive policies may take longer than expected to reduce inflation, expressed his belief that they will reach the inflation target.
Here are the highlights of Powell's speech:
“The US economy is performing very well.
The US economy has a very strong labor market.
There are still labor shortages in many sectors, but overall it's a good picture for now when looking at US economic data.
There are signs of gradual cooling in the labor market as supply and demand reach better balance.
We expect continued GDP growth of 2% or better.
We expect the labor market to continue rebalancing but remain strong.
We did not expect a smooth path on inflation, we must be patient and let politics do its job.
The decline in inflation in the first quarter was notable for its lack of further progress.
We expect inflation to return to levels similar to last year, but my confidence that inflation will fall again is lower than before.
Overall confidence that inflation will fall is also lower than before.
I can't say it's high for PPI data, it's a bit complicated.
Time will tell whether we are restrictive enough on policy.
It may take longer than expected for restrictive policies to reduce inflation, but I believe we will reach the inflation target. It is great that we can even keep the policy rate at the current level.
Do not think that the next move here will be an interest rate increase.
But right now, it looks like we'll be staying at this policy rate for longer than expected. “
Bitcoin, which was at $61,790 before Powell's speech, fell to $61,300 during the speech.
The news will continue to be updated…
*This is not investment advice.