This week, the U.S. economic calendar is set to be busy, with key inflation data about to be released, while the market remains buoyed by recent remarks from the Federal Reserve Chairman.

After Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell hinted that monetary policy may change, the cryptocurrency market was buoyed later last week; however, that momentum weakened on Monday morning.

Although Powell did not directly commit to an interest rate cut, he acknowledged that the risk balance is changing and that it 'may be necessary' to ease monetary policy and cut rates next month.

With investors expecting a slight decline in interest rates in September, U.S. PCE inflation data will be a key economic indicator in the upcoming week.

Economic events from August 25 to 29

Consumer confidence data will be released on Tuesday, reflecting consumer perceptions of inflationary pressures.

Thursday will be a big data day, as the annualized report on second-quarter GDP growth is set to be released, providing more insights into economic growth and incorporating supplemental data not included in the estimates. HSBC economists predict that the second-quarter GDP growth rate will be revised up from an initial value of 3.0% to 3.2%.

Core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) for July will be released this Friday, tracking inflation changes based on consumer spending. PCE, like CPI, is one of the key inflation indicators that the Federal Reserve closely monitors. The PCE report will be the next critical data point before the Fed's September policy meeting.

On Friday, the consumer confidence report and inflation expectations will also be released, summarizing consumer confidence and long-term expectations.

This week’s heavy earnings report comes from semiconductor giant Nvidia, which is a bellwether for the entire AI industry. According to Reuters, Nvidia's second-quarter earnings per share are expected to grow by 48%, with revenue reaching $46 billion.

Outlook for the cryptocurrency market

On Monday morning, the Asian digital asset market saw a decline, with the total market capitalization dropping 1% to $4.04 trillion.

Bitcoin erased its weekend gains and retraced to around $113,000 from last week, currently returning to support levels. Shortly after the Fed's speech, BTC briefly touched $117,000 but then fell sharply from that level.

Ethereum hit a historic high in late trading on Sunday, finally breaking through the 2021 peak, soaring to $4,950; however, at the time of writing, it has retraced to the $4,700 level.

Cryptocurrencies were mixed, with Tron, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin all declining, while Chainlink and Hyperliquid saw increases.