Deflation Risk Frustrates Central Bankers’ Easy Money Campaigns
The caveat is that much of the inflation slowdown was due to oil.
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Central bankers are fighting an uphill battle against the forces of deflation.
Flatlining consumer prices and plunging commodity costs are sapping the potency of near-zero interest rates and driving up the so-called real rate -- or interest minus inflation. The higher that goes, the more attractive it is for companies and consumers to save rather than spend as policy makers want.