Crypto markets have remained tightly range-bound over the weekend, with volatility declining, but that may be about to change.
Retail sales and manufacturing reports are released this week. These are often used as indicators of economic conditions and potential changes in inflationary trends.
“We now have the Fed, election, geopolitical tensions, and earnings in the spotlight,” commented the Kobeissi Letter.
Economic Events Oct. 14 to 18
Last week’s slightly hotter-than-expected CPI came along with a rise in jobless claims, which added to investor confusion about the direction of the US economy.
Additionally, the FOMC minutes revealed that most of the rate committee members supported the 0.5% rate reduction, and markets are now pricing in a 0.25% interest rate cut in November.
Thursday will see the release of September’s Retail Sales report, which provides information on the amount of money consumers are spending. It is also a leading indicator of the economy’s health and inflationary factors on the demand side.
However, Global Markets Investor warned that, adjusted for inflation, retail sales have declined for five straight months and have been down by around 3% since April 2022.
September’s Industrial Production report is also out on Thursday. This data reveals the volume of production of US industries like manufacturing, mining, and utilities and is also a leading indicator of economic growth.
Homebuilder confidence is also on tap this week with Friday’s reports on the housing market.
Several Fed officials will deliver remarks this week, starting with Fed Governor Christopher Waller on Monday. On Tuesday, San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Federal Reserve Governor Adriana Kugler will also deliver remarks.
Additionally, big banks, including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, and other top financial firms, are scheduled to report earnings this week.
Crypto Market Outlook
Crypto markets were flat over the past 24 hours, at $2.33 trillion at the time of writing. They traded mostly flat over the weekend, with Bitcoin remaining tightly range-bound.
So far, the market has declined by 5% since the beginning of the month, with no signs of “Uptober” materializing yet.
Bitcoin briefly topped $64,000 during early trading in Asia on Monday morning, however. The asset remains within its seven-month sideways channel and is close to the middle of it at the moment.
Ethereum traded in an even tighter range around the $2,460 level, but it reached $2,500 on Monday morning as it followed its big brother.
Most of the altcoins were in the green this Monday morning, though gains were minimal as the consolidation continued.
