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All Those Real-Economy Pandemic Price Surges Are Going in Reverse

Making molehills out of mountains.

A pile of lumber outside a house under construction at the Norton Commons subdivision in Louisville, Kentucky, US. — A pile of lumber outside a house under construction at the Norton Commons subdivision in Louisville, Kentucky, US.
Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg

By

Tracy Alloway and

January 5, 2023, 3:25 PM UTC

It’s no secret that disruptions caused by the outbreak of Covid-19 sparked a big wave of price increases.

As supply chains snarled and demand patterns shifted, the world economy experienced a sudden ‘whack’ to its normal workings, culminating in shortages of goods and inflated supply-chain costs. Fast forward to 2023, and many of these dramatic moves are shifting into reverse.