Another inflation indicator, the Producer Price Index (PPI) came in lower than expected for May, prompting a verbal assault on Jerome Powell by the president, as bitcoin shed roughly 1%.
Trump Roasts Jerome Powell As Bitcoin Drops
“We’re going to spend $600 billion a year because of one numbskull.” Those were the words of U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday as he took aim at Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell for not cutting rates even as multiple economic indicators surprisingly show cooling inflation. Bitcoin edged lower on the news, and stock markets see-sawed.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) measures inflation at the commercial or wholesale level and is widely considered a leading indicator to its counterpart the Consumer Price Index (CPI) which calculates inflation for consumers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics published its PPI data on Thursday, showing that wholesale inflation went up by 0.1% in May, lower than the 0.3% increase expected by economists.
The good news failed to lift bitcoin’s price which languished at roughly $108K, but Trump used the data as ammunition against Powell, who has been the target of the president’s ire for some time now. Trump previously threatened to fire Powell for not cutting rates, something many say would be unconstitutional. The Fed will reconvene on June 17 and 18 for its scheduled meeting to determine the direction of the country’s interest rates.
“We’ve got inflation under control,” Trump said. “If we cut our interest by one point…we save $300 billion,” he added, referencing how much the federal government would save in interest payments on its outstanding debt if rates were lower. “If we cut it by two points we save… $600 billion.”
The president made the remarks at the White House where he signed a bill terminating California’s electric vehicle (EV) mandate.
Overview of Market Metrics
Bitcoin slipped 1.09% over 24 hours to trade at $108,272.00 at the time of reporting. Despite the decline, BTC is still up 4.66% for the week. Price action remained relatively contained within a 24-hour range of $106,611.47 to $109,203.62.
Trading activity picked up slightly, with 24-hour volume climbing 4.35% to $53.46 billion. Bitcoin’s total market capitalization dropped in tandem with its price, now sitting at $2.15 trillion, down 1.09% since yesterday. However, BTC’s dominance edged up to 64.16%, a 0.07% increase, likely due to investors fleeing volatile altcoins and returning to the dominant cryptocurrency.
In derivatives markets, futures open interest fell 2.51% to $73.81 billion, reflecting a slightly more cautious stance from traders. Liquidations painted a different picture, with nearly all of the $3 million in liquidations coming from short positions, and just $1,290 in long liquidations, according to Coinglass. In short, bears bet against BTC and got wiped out.
