U.S. inflation falls slightly

The U.S. federal Bureau of Statistics just released new inflation figures. Consumer prices rose 3.3 percent in May compared to the same month last year. Compared to April inflation, however, the figure fell 0.1 percent.

Analysts had previously expected inflation to remain unchanged at 3.4 percent. This forecast has now been undercut. Among others, the housing cost index and the food index recorded increases of 0.4 and 0.1 percent, respectively.

Besides inflation figures, analysts are awaiting the U.S. Federal Reserve's (Fed) interest rate decision tonight (8 p.m. Central European Time). Ahead of the event, few experts expect the monetary watchdog to cut interest rates. The unchanged inflation numbers are unlikely to change that.

Instead, the key interest rate is likely to remain between 5.25 and 5.5 percent. The ECB cut interest rates last week despite a slight increase in inflation. Nevertheless, the announcement of the inflation figures caused euphoria in the crypto market. The Bitcoin price rose about 2 percent in a very short period of time. At the time of writing, BTC stands at just under USD 69,385.