U.S. September PPI rises 1.3% from prior month, above forecasts

The U.S. Labor Department announced producer prices rose 1.3% in September from the previous month, well above market forecasts of 0.6%. The producer price index, or PPI, tends to feed into the consumer price index, or CPI, with a lag. Cryptocurrencies, which are classified as risk assets, are sensitive to PPI and CPI releases as inflation indicators that influence the Federal Reserve’s rate decisions. When both readings come in above forecasts, expectations for Fed rate cuts may weaken, while weaker-than-expected data can be interpreted as a sign of easing inflation and strengthen expectations for rate cuts. In general, risk assets tend to rise when expectations grow for greater liquidity from rate cuts.