Markets
How will this week’s US economic data affect cryptocurrency markets?
Cryptocurrency markets remained relatively inactive over the weekend, maintaining gains made last week in the wake of Ethereum exchange-traded fund approvals in the United States.
This week will see the release of more economic data such as consumer confidence and gross domestic product indicators.
Economic calendar May 27-31
Monday is Memorial Day in the US, so markets will be closed and low volatility is expected for cryptocurrencies.
Consumer confidence data will be released on Tuesday, which improved slightly in May from the previous month, with weekly jobless claims and better-than-expected manufacturing and services PMIs last week.
On Thursday we will see the annualized GDP growth report for the first quarter of 2024, which provides an advanced estimate and insight into the health of the economy compared to the previous quarter.
However, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that the economy has slowed to 1.5% annualized growth, slightly lower than initial estimates.
The April Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) report will be released on Friday, showing the average amount of money consumers spend each month. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve’s FOMC are keeping an eye on this data as a primary indicator of inflation and will use it to estimate whether inflation is falling.
The related personal income and personal spending report for April is also due on Friday. This reflects the total value of personal income in America plus the value of consumers’ purchases of all types of goods and services.
Consumer spending is a big driver of economic growth, so these reports can provide data on the overall economy and influence the Fed’s monetary policy decisions.
There will also be a total of ten speeches from Federal Reserve heads this week.
Wholesale giant Costco, software company Salesforce and computer company HP are among earnings reports to watch this week.
Cryptocurrency market outlook
Presidential candidate Donald Trump gave the cryptocurrency industry a huge potential boost over the weekend when he said he would support its future in America if elected.
However, this was not enough to move the markets, which hovered around the $2.7 trillion market cap level over the weekend.
The Monday morning Asian trading session has been deactivated. Bitcoin has slipped slightly and is sitting just below $69,000 at the time of writing.
Ethereum prices are faring better, gaining 4% on the day to reach $3,900 after the ETF approvalswhile altcoins remained largely mixed.