US inflation is rising faster than anyone expected – but markets aren’t worried yet

US inflation is at its highest in nearly 30 years. But markets are unfazed, banking on it being just a temporary blip. John Stepek isn’t so sure. Here’s why, and what it means for you.

Second-hand car dealer in America
Used car prices have risen dramatically
(Image credit: © Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

US inflation is now sitting at 5%. That’s much higher than analysts had expected. It’s the fastest rate since before the global financial crisis.

More importantly, if you look beyond the headline measure, inflation hasn’t been this high in nearly 30 years.

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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.