Odd Lots
Some Big Deflationary Forces May Be Starting to Fade
A container ship docks at a new terminal in the Port of Long Beach, California, on Aug. 20.
(Photo by Gao Shan/Xinhua via Getty Images)
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Right now, a lot of the inflation discussion is about fairly short-term factors. Chips. Used cars. Rent. And other categories that are feeling the impact of the pandemic. How long will these categories be on the move? At what point will these moves no longer be considered “transitory?” These are the debates people are having.
Of course, prior to the crisis, inflation had been mild for some time. In a note out on Monday, Michael Pearce of Capital Economics notes some of the disinflationary headwinds that had kept numbers low in recent decades.