Ups & Downs Of Inflation

We certainly aren’t out of the inflation woods yet, but we do seem to be heading in the right direction to get out of this dark forest. Let’s review the latest batch of inflation indicators, starting with two disappointing ones:

(1) Inflation expectations uptick. On Monday, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released its October survey of inflation expectations of Americans. It headed in the wrong way, rising from 5.4% during September to 5.9% during October for the one-year ahead series. The three-year ahead series also up-ticked for the second month from 2.8% in August to 3.1% last month (chart).