Here Are the Dates for the 2023 CPI Releases and FOMC Meetings

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) releases showing the current inflation rate in the USA and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings which determine the rate hikes in the country, have resulted in significant price swings in the cryptocurrency market over the past several months.

In the following, we take a look at the events’ dates in 2023.

The CPI Calendar

Year-over-Year inflation numbers are quite staggering in certain countries, such as Lebanon (162%), Venezuela (over 150%), Turkey (nearly 90%), and Argentina (88%). The situation in well-developed and leading countries like the US might sound less harmful at first, but the world’s most powerful economy saw a 40-year high in June with inflation of over 9%.

Although the latest data revealed the figures for November have decreased to 7.1%, the numbers are still multiple times higher than what economists believe it’s healthy – around 2% YoY increases.

The CPI releases typically affect the prices of most cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin. Almost every announcement from 2022 brought enhanced volatility for the market, which is why it is important to see when the 2023 numbers will be made public.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics will provide the December inflation figures on January 12. The January numbers will go live on February 14, while the following dates are: March 14, April 12, May 10, June 13, July 12, August 10, September 13, October 12, November 14, and December 12 (respectively showing the inflation rate for the previous month).

The FOMC Meetings

The Federal Reserve has applied multiple procedures to combat the economic crisis and galloping inflation, with the most notable perhaps being controlling the interest rates. Thus, the cost of borrowing money becomes more expensive, which is supposed to limit the purchase of certain goods and services.

The Fed announced seven interest rate hikes in 2022, lifting the benchmark to 4.5% (the highest level in 15 years). Some estimate this percentage could go higher in 2023, and here are the next FOMC meetings that will take place throughout the year: February 1, March 22, May 3, June 14, July 26, September 20, November 1, and December 13.

Bitcoin’s price swings were evident each time the central bank of the USA adjusted the interest rates. When the institution raised the benchmark by 0.5% in December, the primary cryptocurrency tumbled from $18,300 to $17,850 in a matter of minutes.

On the contrary, BTC spiked above $20,500 when the Fed increased the interest rates by 75 basis points in November.