Bitcoin Drops Below $74,000 as Core Inflation Runs Above Forecasts

Bitcoin (BTC) fell about 1.2% within minutes of the October inflation report on Tuesday, touching $73,400 on Coinbase before steadying in the high-$73,000s.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported at 8:30 a.m. ET that the Consumer Price Index (CPI), its main gauge of consumer prices, rose 0.4% in October on a seasonally adjusted basis, after a 0.6% gain in September. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3%, matching its August and September readings.

Both figures were a tenth of a percentage point above what economists had expected. Consensus forecasts called for headline CPI to rise about 0.3% and core CPI about 0.2%, while the Cleveland Fed’s inflation nowcast had both measures nearer 0.2%.

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In the half hour before the release, bitcoin traded between roughly $74,120 and $74,360 on Coinbase’s BTC-USD market. In the five-minute window that began at 8:30 a.m. ET, it ranged from a high of $74,599 to a low of $73,400 and closed the window at $73,890.

Trading volume in that window was about 483 BTC, compared with about 36 BTC in the five minutes before it. At 9:06 a.m. ET bitcoin was at about $73,774, roughly 1.4% below its price 24 hours earlier.

The energy index rose 0.7% in October after a 5.2% jump in September, and food prices rose 0.5%. Shelter costs climbed 0.3%, driving more than three-tenths of October’s overall gain, the BLS said. Used car and truck prices fell 1.2%.

The report carried no 12-month inflation rate for either headline or core CPI. Because of the 2025 lapse in government funding, the agency never surveyed prices for October 2025. Most categories therefore have no year-over-year comparison in this report.

The BLS is scheduled to publish November CPI on Dec. 10.

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