For the month of April, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 per cent compared to expectations for 0.4 per cent and versus 0.1 per cent in March

The annual U.S. inflation rate declined to 4.9 per cent in April from 5.0 per cent in March and compared to economist forecasts for 5.0 per cent, as per the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) Consumer Price Index (CPI) report Wednesday morning.

The price of bitcoin increased over 1 per cent to slightly above $28k soon after the news.

For the month of April, the Consumer Price Index increased 0.4 per cent compared to expectations for 0.4 per cent and versus 0.1 per cent in March.

The core Consumer Price Index – which leaves food and energy costs – increased 0.40 per cent in April compared to predictions for 0.4 per cent and March’s 0.4 per cent advance. The annual core Consumer Price Index rate in April was 5.5 per cent compared to predictions for 5.5 per cent and March’s 5.6 per cent.

At its previous meeting earlier in May, the U.S. Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) signalled it is considering at least a pause in its historic run of rate hikes that has seen the central bank raise the benchmark fed funds rate from nearly 0 per cent in early 2022 to the present targeted range of 5.0 per cent -5.25 per cent. While that quick pace of rate increases has not brought inflation down to the Fed’s 2 per cent target, the Fed also has its eyes on the growing troubles in the U.S. banking system, which has resulted in the failure of a number of regional lenders.

For now, traders are speculating this morning’s very modest moderation in inflation might give the Fed room for easier monetary policy. The U.S. 10-year Treasury yield has dropped 7bps to 3.45 per cent and the 2-year 9bps to 3.94 per cent.