Biden and the Fed Go away 1970s Inflation Fears Behind

Economists have struggled to understand the phenomenon, but they largely believe that a cocktail of aging populations, changing consumer expectations, and limited pricing power in a globalized world where consumers can search online to compare prices is curbing inflation .

Market-based inflation expectation measures are hovering around 2 percent and the consumer inflation outlook has fallen slightly over the past decade, although one indicator has risen recently. Unless buyers expect higher prices, companies may not be able to increase them, so whatever people expect can determine reality.

It’s also hard to see where a big and sustained price spike would come from, analysts said.

Airfares, clothing prices, and hotel prices have all taken a blow in the depths of the pandemic in 2020, and they are likely to spike as the economy reopens and consumers with money in their pockets go on vacation and renovate their wardrobes, Alan Detmeister said. A former Fed inflation expert who now works at UBS.

However, the price of goods, which jumped as workers moved to their home offices – from the laptop category to the auto category – could decline and weigh on overall profits. Categories that are very important to the overall index, such as rent and health insurance, are both subdued and slow.

In any case, a temporary rise in prices is not the same as an inflation process in which the price gains continue month after month.

Even if prices recover temporarily, the Fed has pledged to be patient with inflation. Over the past few years – also under the supervision of Ms. Yellen – interest rates have been raised before price gains really picked up to counter any possible overheating. The central bank’s new framework, adopted last year, calls on policymakers to target an inflation rate above 2 percent so that, on average, it hits its target over time.

In addition to stabilizing prices, Congress is also mandating the Fed to try to maximize employment. Charles Evans, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, said earlier this month that $ 1.9 trillion in government spending had the potential to help the Fed meet its inflation and labor market targets faster.

“I have a hard time realizing how big this is, which is causing overheating,” he said.

Comments are closed.