Bitcoin soars over 5% on better-than-expected CPI

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) soared more than 5% on Tuesday morning following better-than-expected Consumer Price Index (CPI) data.

Data released by the US Labour Department showed that November’s CPI rose just 0.1% from October’s readings. The inflation gauge however showed a 7.1% reading year-on-year last month, against an expected 7.3%.

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Core CPI, which excludes the more volatile numbers from food and energy prices, came in at 0.2% month-on-month in November against a forecast 0.3%. Core CPI rose 6% YoY compared to an estimated 6.1%.

Indeed, as Charlie Bilello, the founder and CEO of Compound Capital Advisors, noted, all the major components of the CPI came in lower YoY last month compared to October.

Bitcoin price comes close to $18,000

At the time of writing, the price of the benchmark cryptocurrency was around $17,935 on major exchanges according to data from leading market aggregator CoinGecko. Although the cryptocurrency was trading at +5.5%, its intraday high was $17,942 and the gains were largely mirrored across the crypto market.

The total crypto market cap was up 4% to over $914 billion, while the prices of Ethereum and Dogecoin were up more than 7% and 6% respectively. Ether was trading near $1,340 while DOGE was hovering at $0.094.

US stocks also up

Ahead of markets opening on Tuesday, stocks were also trading higher. US futures were ripping upwards after the CPI data. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures were up 780 points, or 2.3%. 

The cooler-than-expected inflation readings also saw the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures up by 2.9% and nearly 4% respectively at around 09:20 am ET.