Bitcoin Prices Trade Within Tight Range As Investors Digest Latest Economic Data

Bitcoin prices have shown significant stability today. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)Getty Images The world's most prominent digital currency reached as much as $16,916.70 this morning, CoinDesk data shows. The cryptocurrency, which had been trading between $16,800 and $16,900 since late last night, reached this intraday high after a U.S. government report showed that the personal consumption expenditures price index (PCE index), the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, climbed 0.1% in November, down from a 0.4% increase in October. The PCE index was up 5.5% from one year ago, compared to 6.1% last month. [Ed note: Investing in cryptocoins or tokens is highly speculative and the market is largely unregulated. Anyone considering it should be prepared to lose their entire investment.] Cooling inflationary pressures could give Federal Reserve policymakers greater flexibility to take a less aggressive approach toward containing inflation. As this benchmark rate increases, it places upward pressure on broader interest rates, a development that could potentially produce headwinds for risk assets, including cryptocurrencies and stocks, as investors choose interest-bearing financial instruments that pay higher yields than they did before. If Fed policymakers take a less aggressive approach toward keeping inflation under control, it could prove beneficial to bitcoin markets, helping reduce a bearish factor that could adversely impact prices going forward. The aforementioned tool calculates these figures by using 30-Day Fed Fund futures pricing data.