Episode Details

Yesterday’s US consumer price data provoked some unease in bond markets. This is mainly the fault of Federal Reserve Chair Powell—not because Powell’s policies drove inflation higher, but because Powell’s “data dependency” mantra means markets overreact to any data point. Egg prices are not controllable (not even by presidential executive order), but the fact that food price inflation is creeping up may have implications for other policies that are hurting US farmers. Today’s producer price data may show companies anticipating tariffs.