The labor market just made the Fed’s job harder. 👀
August NFP came in stronger than expected at 162K, while unemployment held at 4.1%.
That tells me the economy isn’t showing enough weakness to force the Fed’s hand toward easier policy.
But now inflation takes center stage.
August PPI came in hot at 0.4% MoM and 5.4% YoY, while rising energy prices could add even more pressure.
So I’m leaning slightly risk-off heading into CPI.
A hotter CPI — especially a sticky core print — could push rate expectations higher, lift Treasury yields and strengthen the dollar. That’s not exactly the setup stocks and gold want.
But here’s where it gets interesting.
If CPI comes in cooler than expected, the entire narrative could reverse almost instantly.
Markets don’t trade the number alone.
They trade the surprise.
Hotter than expected = potentially bearish.
Cooler than expected = potentially bullish.
For now, I’m not picking a side.
I’m watching the gap between CPI and expectations.
Today CPI report could be more than just another economic release.
My focus is on core CPI.
If the core number shows continued progress, the market may interpret that as evidence that underlying inflation is cooling.
That could be constructive for stocks, gold, and crypto.
But if core inflation comes in significantly hotter, I would expect volatility to increase as traders reassess rates Treasury yields, and the dollar.
The important distinction is between temporary inflation and persistent inflation.
Higher energy prices can lift the headline CPI number but that does not automatically mean the entire inflation picture is getting worse.
A cool CPI could support risk sentiment and potentially benefit stock gold and crypto.
A hot core reading could strengthen the dollar lift yields and create pressure on risk assets. My bias is to stay patient until the data confirms the story.
GIVEAWAY ALERT for our Square Family! 🧧 As a huge thank you, we're giving away gifts to our amazing community. To Enter: ✅ Follow us ✅ Share this post ✅ Comment "222" Winners chosen randomly. Good luck & thanks for being part of our journey!
Orderly has had a strong, wave-like climb today. From a low of **0.03411**, it built a solid uptrend through multiple rally phases, tagged a high of **0.03860**, pulled back to reload, and is now pushing back up to a fresh push at **0.03781**.
The chart shows a healthy stair-step rally — a strong initial breakout from 0.0341, then a mid-session consolidation, before a second wave pushed price to the 0.0386 high. From there, a pullback into 0.0359 gave buyers a fresh base, and the latest surge has taken price right back to the recent highs.
🎯 **Key level to watch:** 0.03860 — a break and hold above this reopens the door to fresh highs. ⚠️ **Support to defend:** 0.03685 — losing this could stall the latest push.
Strong volume, clean multi-wave uptrend — buyers pushing into the close.