Crypto markets stalls before inflation data as XRP, SOL rebuffed from key price levels
Your day-ahead look for May 12, 2026
What to know:
- Bitcoin’s rally stalled around $80,000 to $82,000 as traders await a key U.S. inflation report that could shape risk appetite across markets.
- April’s U.S. consumer price index is expected to accelerate to 3.7%, raising concerns that higher inflation, elevated oil prices and Iran-related tensions could spur volatility in stocks, commodities and cryptocurrencies.
- XRP and solana are testing major resistance levels even as institutional demand via U.S.-listed spot ETFs grows, with XRP funds seeing their strongest inflows since early January.
The U.S. is scheduled to report its consumer price index (CPI) for April at 8:30 a.m. ET. According to FactSet, the median estimate is 3.7%, up from 3.3% in March. If that proves correct, it would mark the largest increase in the CPI since January 2024 and be well above the trailing 12-month average of 2.7%.
Analysts are worried that such a reading, especially against the backdrop of what President Donald Trump described as an “unbelievably weak” U.S.-Iran ceasefire and still-elevated oil prices, could trigger risk aversion, potentially weighing on asset prices.
“Markets are entering a highly sensitive period where geopolitics, inflation risks and central bank expectations are colliding,” said Lukman Otunuga, head of market research at global trading broker FXTM. “The combination of elevated oil prices, uncertainty around the Iran conflict, and critical U.S. economic data could drive heightened volatility across commodities, currencies and global equities in the days ahead.”
