The crypto wiped out most of a brief rebound seen earlier this week
Bitcoin on Wednesday slipped marginally in a choppy session following a new escalation in tensions between Iran and U.S. Losses were capped as institutional selling showed some signs of cooling after three straight weeks of heavy outflows from spot exchange-traded funds.
Bitcoin dropped 0.3% to $61,589.3 by 21:10 GMT. The crypto wiped out most of a brief rebound seen earlier this week.
Losses in Bitcoin came amid a broader rout in risk-driven assets, especially equities, as investors pivoted into safe havens. The moves came amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington.
Meanwhile, cooling capital outflows from spot ETFs lent Bitcoin some relief. Data from SoSoValue showed a total $168 million in outflows so far this week, after over $5 billion in outflows over the past three weeks battered crypto markets.
Elsewhere, U.S. consumer inflation data for May came in line with estimates and reinforced market expectations that the country’s central bank will hold interest rates steady at policy meeting next week.
The headline consumer price index (CPI) jumped 4.2% Y/Y in May, matching economist forecasts and accelerating from a 3.8% gain in April. On a monthly basis, prices increased 0.5%, also in line with expectations and slightly below April’s 0.6% rise.
Core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, came in a bit weaker than anticipated, advancing 0.2% M/M against a forecast of 0.3% and slowing from April’s 0.4% pace. On an annual basis, core CPI increased 2.9%, matching expectations and edging up from 2.8% the prior month.
While the annual headline CPI rise was the highest since April 2023, over 60% of that increase was due to energy. In fact, spiking energy and gasoline prices driven by the ongoing Middle East war showed an outsized impact in the report. Energy prices surged 23.5% Y/Y in May, while gasoline soared 40.5%. These were the highest readings since August 2022 and July 2022, respectively.
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