Bitcoin was recently trading over $19,550, up more than 2% over the past 24 hours, amid a surprising monthly decline in the Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index, which measures factory activity. The drop didn’t send asset prices soaring, but it offered faint hope that the economy was slowing meaningfully, inflation would soon be waning, and the U.S. central bank would be able to ratchet back its recent monetary hawkishness. Markets have been desperate for signs of improvement in the inflation battle that Federal Reserve officials see as key to long-range economic stability.
