Get set for an inflation scare

945_MW_P04_Markets — The US labour market is tightening quickly

Strong US GDP figures carried a "sting in the tail", says The Economist. The world's largest economy shrugged off a government shutdown to expand at an annualised pace of 3.2% in the first quarter, comfortably outstripping consensus forecasts. Yet "quiescent" inflation running at an annual rate of 1.9% in March suggests that underlying demand could be weak, so the Federal Reserve is unlikely to resume hiking rates for now.

The most likely path for US interest rates is now downwards, reckons Komal Sri-Kumar on Bloomberg. Central bankers are happy to take a dovish stance because previous predictions that ultra-low rates and quantitative easing (QE) would trigger surging inflation did not materialise. Between 2008 and 2015 the Fed's balance sheet of assets bought with printed money "more than quintupled", but inflation remained stubbornly below the 2% target. Other developed markets, including the UK and the eurozone, have had similar experiences.

Why hasn't it appeared yet?

This is especially the case since a crucial driver of inflation is now emerging, says Laurence Fletcher in the Financial Times: rising wages. Pay has been climbing for five years amid a tight labour market. It recently reached a ten-year high. This is a danger to the US-led global stockmarket rally on two counts. Higher costs mean lower corporate profit margins and earnings, which will undermine historically overvalued equities. The broader problem, however, is that investors are looking the other way.

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An underrated risk

Any inflationary scare could prompt the US Federal Reserve, which has been counting on low inflation too, to raise interest rates fast to prevent price rises soaring out of control. That would remove a "key support" for global markets, as Fletcher says. It would also be very good news for gold.

Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019.

Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere.

He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful.

Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.