Bitcoin, ether tumbling after August CPI print reflects stubbornly high inflation

Most of the major cryptocurrencies, including bitcoin (BTC-USD) and ethereum (ETH-USD), dropped alongside equities immediately after consumer price inflation for August came in hotter-than-expected, fueling bets for an aggressive interest-rate hike at the Federal Reserve's September 20-21 meeting. CPI came in at 8.3% Y/Y in August, exceeding the 8.1% consensus, but easing from 8.5% in July. Core CPI, which excludes volatile prices and happens to be the Fed's more preferred inflation gauge, climbed 6.3% from a year ago vs. 6.1% consensus and 5.9% prior. Bitcoin (BTC-USD) slumped 5% to $21K at 10:45 p.m. ET, and ether (ETH-USD) plunged 6.8% to $1.59K. All three major U.S. indices opened the session sharply lower after the disappointing CPI numbers came out. As Fed policymakers make it clear that their top priority is to bring down inflation to its 2% target, markets have now completely priced out the chances of a 50-basis-point rate increase for the September gathering. Traders are hedging for an 82.0% probability of a 75-bp rate hike, and an 18.0% chance that the Fed will lift its overnight lending target rate by 100bps, according to CME's FedWatch tool. The central bank's current target rate stands at 2.25%-2.50%."The notion that the Fed should soon pivot needs to be politely trashed," Joseph Brusuelas principal and chief economist at consulting firm RSM US, wrote in a Twitter post. "Why? Take a look at the three month average...