BTC Stuck Below $73K as PCE Hits 3.8% and Macro Hedges…

Bitcoin is failing to catch a bid even as traditional risk assets rally on reports of a U.S.-Iran draft ceasefire memorandum. Axios reported that negotiators reached a 60-day understanding to extend hostilities and begin nuclear talks, though President Trump has yet to sign off. Stocks and bonds moved higher on the news while WTI crude tumbled below $90 — but crypto markets stayed pinned.

The macro backdrop is turning hostile on multiple fronts. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge, the PCE index, climbed to 3.8% year-over-year in April — its highest reading since 2023 and a sharp jump from 2.8% in February. Fitch Ratings' head of US economics Olu Sonola put it plainly: 'The Fed is stuck — and the heat is clearly being turned up.' Core inflation is also moving the wrong way, limiting the Fed's room to cut.