The Whitehouse is currently jittery over the possible double-digit inflation hovering on the horizon, as shown by the data released by the U.S. Labor Department.
According to multiple reports, the Biden administration is doing all it can to whittle down the impact of the upcoming inflation, as revealed by the latest data, which would see the cost of living soar above that of March with increased inflation fears.
Jen Psaki, the Whitehouse Press Secretary, told reporters that it is expected that the PCI metric for inflation for March will spike due to the price hike of energy approved by the Russian government.
The headline inflation reflects the global disruptions in the energy and commodity markets, which have increased since last month due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions slammed on Russia.
The Changing Consumer Price Index (CPI)
The data from Tuesday’s forecast revealed that the CPI increased by 8.3% in March after a 7% spike in February, as announced by FXStreet.
Moreover, the Whitehouse has cautioned about the impending headline CPI due to the sharp jump in inflation, which caused a volatile rise in the price of consumables and energy demand. The government is at the forefront of pushing for calm to reduce panic among the citizens and investors in the market.
The Federal Reserve has, in the previous week, disclosed that bringing down the high inflation rate is the biggest concern of the U.S. government. Therefore, the authorities have identified a hike in interest rates and a quick balance sheet as the possible ways to pull the United States’ financial position into the green zone later in the year.
However, the Whitehouse is optimistic that headline inflation is likely to cool down in the months to come as the panic in the energy sector gradually wanes.
Crypto Market on the Brinks
Analysts have maintained that the ongoing market crisis is also a contributing factor to the volatility in the crypto market, citing risk assets like Bitcoin under immense pressure.
Even though the crypto industry has had moments of boom due to the crisis in Eastern Europe, where huge donations are made in cryptocurrency, the market has yet to stabilize.
Besides, Bitcoin has been on a collision course with gold over the latter’s status as a means of storing value, proving that gold is still the preferred choice for moving assets in the conflict region.
Meanwhile, the entire crypto industry has responded favorably to the initial scare from the war, with various tokens recording gains from the ensuing market recovery.
As the most significant crypto, Bitcoin led the pack with remarkable market performances, which drove the trade volume up, increasing the market valuation of digital assets.
Investors may appear to have been in a panic mode like the rest, but it remains to be seen if they could wait for the storm to pass before assessing their portfolios.