Can This Week's Economic Data Break the Crypto Market Downturn?

Crypto markets remained flat over the weekend, with little movement among major currencies and the total market capitalization remaining around $2.54 trillion, consistent with the past week.

In the United States, stock markets will be closed on Wednesday due to a public holiday, and the cryptocurrency market is also expected to be sluggish.

Still, retail sales data and PMI (purchasing managers' index) reports may shed some light on the direction of the economic recovery.

Economic Calendar June 17-21

The May retail sales report is due to be released on Tuesday, providing information on consumer spending on durable and nondurable goods and helping gauge the health of the economy, consumer spending habits and demand-side inflationary pressures.

The U.S. industrial production report is also due to be released on May 18, but this is likely to have little impact on the overall market or trading activity.

Key events this week:

1. May Retail Sales Data – Tuesday

2. Stock Market Closed Juneteenth – Wednesday

3. Philadelphia Fed Manufacturing Index for June – Thursday

4. S&P US Manufacturing/Services PMI Data – Friday

May Existing Home Sales Data – Friday

6. A total of 10 Fed…

— Kobeissi Letter (@KobeissiLetter) June 16, 2024

The S&P Global Manufacturing PMI report for June is due to be released on Friday. The data captures business conditions in the manufacturing sector, which is a major contributor to overall GDP and is considered a key indicator of U.S. business conditions and the overall economic climate.

Many analysts now believe the Fed's policy outlook is leaning more conservative.

However, if economic reports over the coming months confirm that deflation and price pressures are expected to return to normal, expectations of a rate cut could be brought forward.

This is a positive for riskier assets such as altcoins, as higher liquidity and lower interest rates mean easier access to capital for investment.

But the alt season may still be months away, with the U.S. central bank cutting interest rates just once this year, down from the three it had predicted in March.

Impact on the cryptocurrency market

This week's economic reports are unlikely to have an impact on the cryptocurrency market, so this is expected to be another low volatility week.

Bitcoin stalled just above that level over the weekend before falling again and is now trading below $66,000.

Ethereum reached $3,645 during Asian trading but gave up the gains over the past few hours, falling below $3,500.

Altcoins overall saw more red than green, with Shiba Inu (SHIB), Avalanche (AVAX), Uniswap (UNI), and Near Protocol (NEAR) seeing larger losses.