Bitcoin, Ethereum Rise as Inflation Drops Sharply in March

The price of Bitcoin rose on Thursday after a closely watched inflation gauge in the U.S. showed consumer prices rose far less than expected last month.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 2.4% in the 12 months through March, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (CPI) said. Economists expected the index, which tracks price changes across a broad range of goods and services, to show a 2.6% annual increase.

So-called core inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose 2.8% in the 12 months through March, coming in below economists expectations as well. It marked a sharp improvement from February, when core inflation rose 3.1% on an annual basis.

The index’s increase in March was bolstered by a jump in new vehicle prices. However, the recent increase was partially offset by a decline in used car and truck prices.

Businesses have been watching to see how consumers would respond to the prospect of higher prices under Trump’s trade regime. So far, consumer prices fell 0.1% compared to February—the first month-to-month decline since 2020, BLS noted.

The Bitcoin price was hovering around $82,000, showing a 7.5% increase over the past day and an 0.2% gain in the past hour, according to crypto data provider CoinGecko. The price of Ethereum and Solana were up 11% each, hovering around $1,600 and $114, respectively.

Thursday’s inflation snapshot followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to delay hiking tariffs on most countries for 90 days, a move that provided markets with instant relief after the White House’s on-again, off-again approach to trade shook markets in recent weeks.

Trump lowered his “reciprocal” tariff rate to 10% for 90 nations caught up in his “Liberation Day” announcement. The president meanwhile raised tariffs on Chinese imports to 125%, focusing his trade war on one of America’s biggest adversaries and largest trading partners.

Trump had recently unveiled 25% tariffs on foreign cars and auto parts, which were imposed a week ago, and those levies were left unchanged.

The president’s trade maneuver gave markets a desperately needed dose of clarity, according to BRN analyst Valentin Fournier, who said the trade rally is based on hopes the conflict may not grow broader if negotiations with other nations prevails.

“The possibility of continued negotiations could support a sustained uptrend,” he wrote in a Thursday note. “The worst-case trade war scenario has been shelved—at least temporarily.”

The Federal Reserve has recently been in wait-and-see mode, monitoring how Trump’s tariffs could impact its ability to fight inflation. The U.S. central bank first raised concerns surrounding the impact of Trump’s trade policy on price pressures in December.

Thursday’s inflation reading still clocked in above the Fed’s 2% target, but it represented the second straight month in which both CPI and its core measure fell.

Edited by Stacy Elliott.