Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller is maintaining a hawkish stance ahead of the December policy meeting, arguing that interest rates should rise even if inflation cools. Meanwhile, falling crude prices are providing some relief to investors, while Anthropic has withdrawn preliminary details related to its planned stock market debut.

Bitcoin remained under pressure on Tuesday, dropping 1.4% since midnight UTC to approximately $74,200. The decline came as investors increased their bets on another Federal Reserve rate hike ahead of the U.S. inflation announcement. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20), which tracks major cryptocurrencies, also lost 1.2% since midnight, while remaining largely unchanged over the past 24 hours.

Waller’s latest comments reinforced expectations that the central bank could continue tightening monetary policy. He said he favored a rate increase in December even if inflation had moderated during October. He also noted that a stronger-than-expected inflation report could prompt policymakers to consider a 50-basis-point hike.

According to the CME FedWatch Tool, traders are currently anticipating a 25-basis-point increase at the December 9 meeting. If implemented, the adjustment would lift the Federal Reserve’s benchmark interest-rate range to 4.00%-4.25%.

Economists expected October’s headline Consumer Price Index (CPI) to increase 0.3% month over month, while core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was forecast to advance 0.2%.

Annual inflation comparisons will be unavailable because the government shutdown in October 2025 prevented officials from collecting the necessary price data. The previous month’s annual headline and core CPI readings stood at 3.7% and 2.6%, respectively.

Oil prices moved in the opposite direction, declining approximately 2% over the past 24 hours and offering some relief to financial markets. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded around $84 per barrel, marking its lowest level since late August. Brent crude hovered near $90 following President Donald Trump’s indication that further strikes against Iran would be paused.

Gold also weakened, losing slightly more than 1% and moving below $4,100 per ounce. Nasdaq 100 futures slipped after Monday’s recovery, while the U.S. Dollar Index remained firm below 102.

In another major development, Anthropic, the company responsible for the Claude AI chatbot, withdrew preliminary IPO pricing information that had previously been shared with investment bankers, according to Reuters.

The proposed offering reportedly included approximately 867 million shares priced between $70 and $80 apiece, potentially generating up to $69.3 billion.

Anthropic described the circulated figures as inaccurate and said it would submit updated information. However, the company did not clarify which details needed correction, leaving uncertainty surrounding the planned offering’s pricing and fundraising expectations.