The Inflation Scare Is Missing Some Inflation
Stocks are more concerned about a rise in yields, though a repeat of the taper tantrum looks to have been avoided.
Calm down, it’s not here yet.
Photographer: Archive Photos/Getty Images
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What exactly are we afraid of? It was always a safe bet that there would be an inflation scare at some point early this year. Just the base effects caused by the shutdown and the dive in the crude oil price 12 months ago more or less guaranteed that year-on-year comparisons would look scary for a while. But the scare has already started, at a point when actual figures don’t look alarming in the slightest. This is Wednesday’s reading for core U.S. consumer prices (excluding fuel and food). It was slightly lower than expectations: