Bitcoin Rises Above $85,000 as US Core PCE Comes in Below Forecast

The U.S. core personal consumption expenditures price index for August came in below market expectations, easing inflation concerns and lifting Bitcoin.

The Bureau of Economic Analysis said on September 30 that the U.S. PCE price index rose 3.4% in August from a year earlier. That was 0.3 percentage point below the market forecast of 3.7%.

On a monthly basis, the index rose 0.3%, also 0.1 percentage point below the forecast of 0.4%.

The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy, rose 3.0% from a year earlier. That was 0.3 percentage point below economists' forecast of 3.3%.

From the previous month, the core index gained 0.2%, undershooting the market estimate of 0.3% by 0.1 percentage point.

The core PCE index measures prices paid by U.S. consumers for goods and services excluding food and energy. It is a key inflation gauge the Federal Reserve monitors when considering policy, including interest-rate decisions.

Bitcoin rose after the U.S. PCE data came in below expectations. According to CoinMarketCap, Bitcoin was trading at $85,413.17 as of 9:53 p.m. Korea Standard Time, up 1.29% from a day earlier.