Bitcoin slips before U.S. inflation report as traders price in Fed rate increase

Bitcoin (BTC) fell Tuesday, losing 1.4% since midnight UTC to around $74,200, as traders increased bets on a Federal Reserve interest-rate increase ahead of Tuesday’s U.S. inflation report. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks the largest cryptocurrencies, lost 1.2% since midnight and was little changed over 24 hours.

Fed Governor Christopher Waller fueled that interest-rate outlook, saying he favored a higher rate even if inflation cooled last month. A hotter-than-expected reading could warrant raising by 50 basis points, he said. Traders are pricing 25 basis points of tightening for Dec. 9, taking the target range to 4.00%-4.25%, according to the CME Fedwatch tool.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is forecast to say headline inflation rose 0.3% month over month in October, with core prices, excluding food and energy, increasing 0.2%. Annual comparisons will not be available because last October’s government shutdown prevented price collection, leaving no comparable data. September’s annual readings were 3.7% and 2.6%, respectively.

Oil offered some relief for markets, falling 2% over the past 24 hours. WTI traded around $84, its lowest since late August, while Brent crude hovered near $90 after President Donald Trump signalled a pause in further Iran strikes.

Gold fell just over 1%, trading below $4,100 an ounce. Nasdaq 100 index futures declined following Monday’s rally, while the Dollar Index remained firm below 102.

Anthropic, the developer of Claude AI,  withdrew pricing details circulated to bankers that indicated an offering of roughly 867 million shares at $70 to $80 each, potentially raising $69.3 billion, Reuters reported.

The company said the pricing information was inaccurate and promised an updated filing, without specifying which details were wrong.