Can This Week’s Economic Data Lift Crypto Markets From Lethargy?

Crypto markets have remained sideways over the weekend with very little movement for the majors and total capitalization staying around $2.54 trillion where it has been for the past week.

There is a holiday on Wednesday in the US so stock markets will be closed and crypto markets are likely to be muted.

Nevertheless, retail sales data and PMI (purchasing managers index) reports may shed some light on the direction of economic recovery.

Economic Calendar June 17-21

May’s retail sales reports are due on Tuesday, providing information on consumer spending on durable and non-durable goods, which helps gauge the economy’s health, consumer spending habits, and demand-side inflation pressures.

U.S. industrial production reports are also due on May 18, but these have little impact on wider market and trading activity.

Key Events This Week:

1. May Retail Sales data – Tuesday

2. Stock Market Closed, Juneteenth – Wednesday

3. June Philly Fed Manufacturing Index – Thursday

4. S&P US Manufacturing/Services PMI data – Friday

5. May Existing Homes Sales data – Friday

6. A total of 10 Fed…

— The Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 16, 2024

June’s S&P Global Manufacturing PMI report is due on Friday. This data captures business conditions in the manufacturing sector, which contributes significantly to total GDP and is considered an important indicator of business conditions and the overall economic climate in the U.S.

Many analysts now believe that the Federal Reserve’s policy outlook is leaning towards a more conservative stance.

Nevertheless, if economic reports in the next couple of months confirm the outlook of disinflation and price pressures returning to normal, the rate-cut expectations may be brought forward.

This would be good for high-risk assets such as altcoins, as more liquidity and lower rates mean easier access to capital for investments.

However, the U.S. central bank is now projecting just one rate cut this year, down from the three that it had forecast in March, so altseason may be a few months away yet.

Crypto Market Impact

It is unlikely that any of this week’s economic reports will impact crypto asset markets, so another week of low volatility is expected.

Bitcoin has fallen once again, trading below $66,000 currently, after spending the weekend stuck at just over that level.

Ethereum reached $3,645 during Asian trading but lost those gains over the past few hours, falling back to under $3,500.

There was more red than green across the altcoins, with larger losses for Shiba Inu (SHIB), Avalanche (AVAX), Uniswap (UNI), and Near Protocol (NEAR).