Bitcoin's price fell below $90,000 after the U.S. market opened, trading at lower levels as investors awaited the release of the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report. The PCE is a key inflation indicator closely watched by the Federal Reserve. With a Federal Reserve meeting scheduled for the upcoming week, short-term investors likely engaged in panic selling shortly after the market opened. Additionally, the Michigan reports have just been released.
U.S. Inflation Update
The September PCE report was initially unavailable due to a government shutdown. The delayed report covers the inflation status from two months ago and does not reflect the current situation. Nevertheless, investors reduced their exposure to risk in anticipation of potentially unexpected data, causing losses of up to 7% in altcoins.
- •U.S. September PCE Announced: 2.8% (Expectation: 2.8%, Previous: 2.7%)
- •U.S. September Core PCE Announced: 2.8% (Expectation: 2.8%, Previous: 2.9%)
Although consensus estimates were lower, some analysts had expected PCE to rise as high as 3.1%. However, the released figures aligned with the consensus estimates.
Despite reaching the highest level since February 2025, the PCE remaining below 3% is considered positive. Furthermore, it is favorable that inflation has been restrained below this level for a considerable period. Today's figures confirm that inflation is under control, with employment being the main concern. The Michigan 5-year inflation expectation came in below forecast, and the 1-year predictions were also low.