Bitcoin hits $73K as cool US CPI data shows 60-year record gas price hike

Bitcoin saw a fresh attempt to hit new local highs on the back of lower-than-expected US CPI data, despite a giant gas-price increase.

Bitcoin (BTC) tagged $73,000 following Friday’s Wall Street open as crucial US inflation numbers came in below expectations.

Bitcoin edges higher as US CPI data remains slightly below market expectations.

Gasoline prices see a historic surge within the CPI release.

Bitcoin traders plan out key resistance levels overhead.

Data from TradingView showed BTC price eyeing new multi-week highs as markets digested the March print of the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

This was the week’s key macro data release, and the first CPI report to reflect the impact of the US and Israel war in Iran.

Gasoline prices jumped over 21% month-on-month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirmed, but overall CPI finished 0.1% lower than markets’ expectations.

“Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 3.3 percent before seasonal adjustment,” an official news release read. 

Reacting, trading resource The Kobeissi Letter noted that the gas-price CPI jump was the largest monthly gain since 1967. The energy increase, it added in a further post on X, was the largest since 2005.

With the resulting mixed picture of inflationary forces, US stocks were mostly flat at the open, while BTC price action also avoided major moves up or down.

Markets, however, had no hope for the Federal Reserve cutting interest rates — a conclusion already in place on the back of Thursday’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index release, per data from CME Group’s FedWatch Tool.

Among Bitcoin market participants, there was modest reason for optimism over the short-term price outlook.

Related: Bitcoin analysis sees $55K BTC price 'iron bottom' by December 2026

In their latest X analysis, trader JDK Analysis flagged BTC/USD acting within a narrowing wedge — a topic of debate since February.

“If price makes another attempt at the current key high, the reaction there will be critical!” they wrote in accompanying commentary.

Trader Daan Crypto Trades meanwhile eyed exchange order-book liquidity below $74,000.

$BTC Liquidity levels to watch in close proximity are that ~$71K region below, and $73K-$74K above (local high). pic.twitter.com/BlKsaZXdpb

Earlier, Cointelegraph reported on a copycat signal from Bitcoin’s relative strength index (RSI) that began to echo the end of the 2022 bear market.

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Source: CoinTelegraph