Can XRP Break $1.35? Price Shrugs off Energy Spikes as Fresh US Inflation Report Offers Brief Relief

U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for March, released at the end of the week, brought slightly more clarity to investor expectations. Despite overall inflation turbulence, the digital asset sector — including $XRP as a key retail and institutional crypto — reacted with moderate optimism.

The market focused not on the headline figure but on Core CPI, which came in at +0.2% (versus the expected +0.3%). This is the metric the Federal Reserve relies on when making rate decisions, and the fact that it came in “cooler” than forecasts reduced panic among institutional investors.

Immediately after the release, $XRP tested the $1.3475 zone, after which it transitioned into a phase of healthy consolidation. The volume profile indicates a significant cluster of orders around $1.3460 — a “magnet” around which the price is currently balancing.

How cooling U.S. inflation provides safety net for $XRP holders

Headline inflation jumped to +0.9% due to the conflict in the Middle East and elevated energy prices. The crypto market is currently acting as a kind of hedge against this instability: investors believe the Fed will not tighten policy aggressively in response to external shocks it cannot directly control.

The current consensus is that the Fed is likely to remain on pause through the end of 2026. This creates an environment for sideways price action, with an upward bias for large-cap altcoins such as $XRP.

The news backdrop currently favors buyers, but without excess. The market has interpreted the data as “acceptable,” avoiding sell-offs and holding above the $1.34 level for $XRP.