Economics
‘Team Transitory’ Gets a U.S. Inflation Win -- But Not a Blowout
- Consumer prices rose by a less-than-forecast 0.3% in August
- But still-fragile supply chains show lingering price pressures
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After months of supercharged U.S. inflation readings, August data offered some comfort for “team transitory” –- those at the Federal Reserve and elsewhere who say price spikes caused by the economy’s reopening will soon abate.
Still, the numbers won’t settle the great inflation debate. Plenty of economists point to persistent supply-chain problems and rising wages as reasons why inflation might stay higher-for-longer in the months ahead.
The consumer price index rose by a less-than-forecast 0.3% from July, restrained by declines in used cars, airfares and auto insurance. Those categories have been instrumental in hefty CPI prints over recent months. Annual inflation was 5.3%, down from the pandemic peak two months earlier.