Okay, so I’ve gotten about half a dozen calls since Wednesday asking if I saw the May CPI numbers that came out this week. The answer is yes. Pretty eye-popping…especially if you have the misfortune of being in the market for a new or used car. Drive extra careful, because you don’t want to be that person right now!
There are some more complete indicators on tap to be released next week that should give a more complete picture of what’s really going on, but it only makes sense that labor and product shortages are going to have to price-adjust at some point to bring demand and supply back into equilibrium, and that could definitely result in more inflationary pressure.
Wells Fargo’s Economists have pulled-out their Ouija board and looked into the future at the FOMC meeting that concludes June 16th. They don’t expect any major policy changes from that meeting. The recent increase in inflation could however induce some committee members to bring forward their forecasts of future rate hikes and open the discussion regarding the pace of asset purchases.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 17 July 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Jul 18, 2020
Two countervailing themes competed for attention this week in financial markets. The first is that for the most part, economic data continue to surprise to the upside and do not yet rule out prospects for that elusive V-shaped recovery.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 11 March 2022
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Mar 16, 2022
Russia\'s invasion of Ukraine continues to consume nearly all media attention and has created a level of volatility that is not yet reflected in the data released this week.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 12 February 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 19, 2021
Market attention was concentrated on the January consumer price data, as inflation has come back into focus.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 17 February 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 20, 2023
Inflation in the U.K. receded for the third straight month in January, with the headline rate coming in at 10.1% year-over-year. In bad news, this is still five times the Bank of England\'s 2% target.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 29 January 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 09, 2021
Economic data came in largely as expected this week and suggest continued economic recovery.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 24 February 2023
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 28, 2023
Existing home sales declined 0.7% in January, while new home sales leaped 7.2%. Real personal spending shot higher in January, and solid growth in discretionary spending suggests continued consumer resilience.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 21 August 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Aug 18, 2020
Despite indications of lost momentum elsewhere, residential construction activity is picking up steam.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 07 February 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Feb 08, 2020
U.S. employers added 225K new workers to their payrolls in January, which handily beat expectations. But the factory sector shed jobs for the third time in four months, and net layoffs were reported for finance and retail as well.
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 30 April 2021
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / May 18, 2021
The gain in output leaves the level of real GDP just a stone\'s throw below its pre-COVID Q4-2019 level (see chart).
This Week's State Of The Economy - What Is Ahead? - 10 November 2020
Wells Fargo Economics & Financial Report / Nov 17, 2020
The U.S. election has come and gone, but we have not made any meaningful changes to our economic outlook, which continues to look for further expansion in the U.S. economy in coming quarters.