Hot US Inflation Jolts Markets: Dollar Surges, Crypto Slides

What happened

Markets were rattled this week by a hotter-than-expected US inflation report. September CPI rose 3.7% year over year versus the 3.6% forecast, and core inflation also beat expectations. The 10-year Treasury yield climbed to 5.33%, while odds of an October Fed rate hike jumped to 54%. (vibiznews) (analyticsinsight)

Forex: the dollar takes the lead

The US Dollar Index briefly hit its highest level since April 2025. The euro was the main casualty: EUR/USD closed down 0.37% at 1.1158 on Wednesday. It then recovered about 0.5% to near 1.1220 on Thursday, though it still sits below its 20-day average, with 1.1000 the key support to watch. Elsewhere, GBP/USD sits near 1.3245, USD/JPY has eased toward 158.00, and gold has recovered toward $4,149. (Rekomendasi Forex EUR/USD 15 Oktober 2026 : Mencermati Pergerakan Dolar AS dan Pernyataan Pejabat ECB - Vibiznews.com +3)

Crypto: altcoins fall harder than $BTC

$BTC slipped to about $81,150 after losing the $82,000 level, and crypto liquidations neared $1 billion in 24 hours. Altcoins took the bigger hit: Ethereum fell about 5.5%, XRP 4.7%, Solana 4.5% and Cardano 5.6%, versus roughly 2.9% for Bitcoin. Ethereum slid below $2,400, with long positions taking most of the liquidation damage. Bitcoin spot ETFs recorded about $261 million in outflows on October 14, and Ethereum ETFs lost about $130 million. (Crypto Prices Today: Bitcoin Slips Near USD 81,150 as Hot US CPI Sparks USD 1B Liquidations +3)

Most watched

Bitcoin and Ethereum remain the most traded coins. $XRP and Solana are also in focus: XRP funds logged a modest inflow while Solana products saw minor outflows. Solana also has a major network upgrade scheduled for October 21. (tradingview) (Yahoo Finance)

What to watch next

The Fed's October 28 decision is the next big catalyst. Stronger inflation data could keep the dollar firm and pressure risk assets, while any softening could bring relief.