Bitcoin Pulls Back to $119K as Looming Inflation Data Could Bring Price Swings

Bitcoin’s (BTC) overnight push towards fresh records met with profit-taking on Monday, knocking prices down to $118,500.

The pullback left bitcoin 2.8% off its session high of $122,200, though the largest crypto remained up 0.4% over the past 24 hours.

Ether held above $4,200, modestly up 0.8% during the same period, while major altcoins Solana’s SOL (SOL), dogecoin (DOGE) and Sui’s native token (SUI) slipped 3%-4%.

James Van Straten, senior analyst at CoinDesk, noted that bitcoin’s weekend rally left a gap in the CME futures market, which trade only on weekdays, between Friday’s close at $117,430 and Monday’s open at $119,000. History suggests that BTC could pull back to revisit and “fill” that gap, he said.

Tuesday’s U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) report could be the week’s biggest catalyst for traders, with Producer Price Index (PPI) data following later in the week.

Whether bitcoin’s momentum continues will likely depend on those U.S. macroeconomic data reports, Bitfinex analysts said in a Monday market report.

“With market sensitivity to macro events running high, traders should prepare for increased volatility and the possibility of a retracement toward $110,000 in the near term,” the Bitfinex analysts wrote.

“We believe that the ranging conditions and oscillation between the range highs and lows will continue, since price is constantly moving above and below the cost-basis of fresh buyers allowing for charged sentiments around key macro data releases,” they added.

Read more: Watch Out Below: Bitcoin’s Weekend Surge Leaves CME Gap