US Inflation Holds at 3.4%: Will Bitcoin Dodge a September Fed Hike?

US inflation held at 3.4% in July, matching Wall Street forecasts, while core prices cooled to 2.5%. The in-line report keeps a September Federal Reserve rate hike a live coin flip for Bitcoin (BTC) traders. The Bureau of Labor Statistics published the data on Wednesday.

Rate futures now split almost evenly between a hold and a quarter-point increase at the September 16 meeting. U.S. CPI: +3.4% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST. +3.4%)U.S. CORE CPI: +2.5% YEAR-OVER-YEAR (EST.

+2.5%)— Tree News (@TreeNewsFeed) August 12, 2026 Follow us on X to get the latest news as it happens US Inflation Lands Exactly Where Economists Expected Headline prices rose 0.1% on the month, reversing June’s 0.4% decline.

That June drop was the steepest since April 2020, driven largely by falling energy costs. The annual rate eased from 3.5% to 3.4%. Core CPI, which strips out volatile food and energy costs, climbed 0.2% in July and 2.5% from a year earlier.