US Producer Prices for May Were Softer Than Expected, but Failed to Drive Buyer Demand for Riskier Assets

Producer prices fell by 0.2% in May after rising by 0.5% in April. The Dow Jones Industrial Average extended its losses from Wednesday, falling by 0.17% to 38,647.

US producer prices fell more than expected in May as the cost of energy products declined, suggesting that inflation might have peaked. However, the data failed to boost demand for riskier assets.

Producer prices dropped by 0.2% last month, the Labor Department said on Thursday. In April, they had surged by 0.5%. Economists polled by Reuters were expecting a 0.1% increase in May.

In the past 12 months, producer prices increased by 9.7%, slowing down from the 9.9% advance reported in April.

The core producer price index, which excludes the volatile food and energy components, rose by 0.3% in May after remaining unchanged in the prior month. The year-on-year increase in the core PPI slowed down to 6.1% from 6.4% in April.

Economists had expected the core PPI to advance by 0.2% month-over-month and by 6.2% year-over-year.

The data arrived ahead of the Federal Reserve's next policy meeting, scheduled for June 14-15. The central bank is widely expected to raise interest rates by another 50 basis points in an effort to curb inflation.

The Dow Industrials extended its losses from Wednesday, falling by 0.17% to 38,647. The S&P 500 slipped by 0.03% to 4,603, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped by 0.07% to 14,007.

Among other major assets, demand for US BTC-spot ETFs waned on Thursday, increasing BTC selling pressure. According to Farside Investors,

Notably, investors brushed aside news of MicroStrategy (NASDAQ:MSTR) planning to acquire the $500 million equivalent of BTC. On Thursday, founder and CEO Michael Saylor announced a proposed private offering of $500 million of convertible senior notes.

The notes will mature in 2032 and will be used to purchase additional BTC, subject to market conditions and other factors.

With the announcement, Saylor also revealed that MicroStrategy had sold 2,532 BTC at an average price of $48,000 for total proceeds of $122.4 million. The company had acquired the sold BTC at an average price of $37,442.

Later in the day, SEC Chair Gary Gensler testified before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services. In his opening remarks, Gensler discussed the importance of investor protection in the rapidly evolving digital asset market.

Specifically, the SEC Chair highlighted the potential approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this summer. Notably, ProShares had filed an application for a BTC spot ETF in December.

“We expect to be able to act on those over the summer,” Gensler said, adding that the SEC had received several applications for crypto spot ETFs.

Later in his testimony, Gensler stated that the SEC was likely to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF but not an Ethereum spot ETF. According to the SEC Chair, the Commission had yet to approve an ETF for any physical commodity.

“There are several applications out there for Bitcoin spot ETFs, and we expect to be able to act on those over the summer,” Gensler said. “There is one application for an Ethereum spot ETF, but because we haven't yet approved an ETF for any physical commodity, I think it's less likely that we'll be able to approve an ETF for an entire basket of cryptocurrencies.”

Ethereum (CRYPTO: ETH) tracked the broader crypto market into negative territory on Thursday, falling by 2.58% to $3,469. ETH trended lower despite SEC Chair Gensler announcing the likely approval of ETH spot ETFs in the summer.

The SEC Chair gave testimony at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Financial Services hearing. During his opening remarks, Gensler discussed the need for investor protection in the fast-changing digital asset market.

Specifically, Gensler highlighted the potential approval of Bitcoin and Ethereum spot exchange-traded funds (ETFs) this summer. Notably, ProShares filed an application for a BTC spot ETF in December.

“We expect to be able to act on those over the summer,” Gensler said, adding that the SEC had received multiple applications for crypto spot ETFs.

Later in his testimony, Gensler stated that the SEC was likely to approve a Bitcoin spot ETF but not an Ethereum spot ETF. According to the SEC Chair, the Commission had yet to approve an ETF for any physical commodity.

“There are multiple applications out there for Bitcoin spot ETFs, and we expect to be able to act on those over the summer,” Gensler said. “There is one application for an Ethereum spot ETF, but because we haven't yet approved

News source：https://www.kdj.com/cryptocurrencies-news/articles/producer-prices-softer-expected-failed-drive-buyer-demand-riskier-assets.html

The above is the detailed content of US Producer Prices for May Were Softer Than Expected, but Failed to Drive Buyer Demand for Riskier Assets. For more information, please follow other related articles on the PHP Chinese website!