Inflationary pressure is building across the globe. But is it here to stay?

As a rise in demand meets a squeeze in supply, shipping costs climb and labour shortages bite, everything is getting more expensive. John Stepek asks if it’s a temporary bottleneck, or a real turning point in the rise of inflation.

Ships in San Francisco Bay
Ships are facing big queues to dock in the US
(Image credit: © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

From an investor’s point of view, there’s one big post-pandemic question that matters more than any other: will the big picture economic backdrop finally turn into an inflationary, rather than a disinflationary, one?

I don’t have a crystal ball, so I can’t be sure of what’ll happen in the long run. But in the short-term at least, you don’t need a crystal ball. There are signs of inflationary pressure exploding out everywhere.

Subscribe to MoneyWeek

Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Get 6 issues free
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/mw70aro6gl1676370748.jpg

Sign up to Money Morning

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter

Sign up
Explore More
John Stepek

John Stepek is a senior reporter at Bloomberg News and a former editor of MoneyWeek magazine. He graduated from Strathclyde University with a degree in psychology in 1996 and has always been fascinated by the gap between the way the market works in theory and the way it works in practice, and by how our deep-rooted instincts work against our best interests as investors.

He started out in journalism by writing articles about the specific business challenges facing family firms. In 2003, he took a job on the finance desk of Teletext, where he spent two years covering the markets and breaking financial news.

His work has been published in Families in Business, Shares magazine, Spear's Magazine, The Sunday Times, and The Spectator among others. He has also appeared as an expert commentator on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, BBC Radio Scotland, Newsnight, Daily Politics and Bloomberg. His first book, on contrarian investing, The Sceptical Investor, was released in March 2019. You can follow John on Twitter at @john_stepek.