steady at $68k before PCE test, set for positive May By Investing.com

Investing.com– Bitcoin price moved little on Friday as traders remained averse towards cryptocurrencies before key U.S. inflation data that is likely to factor into the outlook for interest rate, although the token was still sitting on strong gains in May.

Crypto prices took little relief from an overnight decline in the , as fears of high-for-longer interest rates remained in play despite a downward revision to first-quarter data.

rose 0.5% in the past 24 hours to $68,489.9 by 01:13 ET (05:13 GMT), and was set to rise nearly 13% in May.

But despite its gains for the month, the token still remained within a $60,000 to $70,000 trading range established since mid-March. 

Inflation, interest rates in focus ahead of PCE data 

Rate fears were the biggest factor behind Bitcoin’s rangebound performance, as the prospect of high interest rates dampened the price outlook for the token and the broader crypto market. 

A slew of Federal Reserve officials warned in recent sessions that the central bank had little confidence that inflation was easing, which in turn clouded its plans to begin trimming interest rates.

Their comments came ahead of key data, which is the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge. The reading is due later on Friday and is expected to show inflation cooled slightly in April, but remained well above the Fed’s 2 annual target.

The prospect of high for longer rates bores poorly for crypto markets, given that it heralds tight liquidity and diminishes the appeal of high-risk, speculative assets. 

Crypto price today: altcoins muted, Ether set for bumper May on ETF hype 

Broader crypto markets traded mildly lower on Friday.

World no.2 token fell over 1% to $3,746.50. But the altcoin was set to add nearly 25% in May, with a bulk of its gains coming over the past week after the Securities and Exchange Commission marked some progress towards the approval of an exchange-traded fund that directly tracks the token. But a decision on the actual listing of a spot Ether ETF was yet to be made. 

Other altcoins drifted lower. fell 1.6%, while SOL fell 2.8%. was also a standout performer in April, up 30%.

Among meme tokens, , and fell between 3.6% and 7.7% on Friday. But PEPE was trading up over 100% in May.