It appears “transitory” inflation is back on the rise again. Take a look…
Inflation Is Back On The Rise
December 17 (King World News) – Gerald Celente: U.S. inflation is rising again.
In October, the annual rate moved up to 2.6 percent from 2.4 percent in September. In November, the pace edged up to 2.7 percent. The Consumer Price Index added 0.3 percent from the month before.
Last month, the core inflation rate, which excludes prices for energy and food, rose at 3.3 percent, its fastest clip in 18 months as vehicle prices jumped, due in part to drivers replacing cars and trucks lost in recent hurricanes.
In November, the cost of medical services increased 0.4 percent for the second consecutive month.
The overall cost of goods had been falling for a year through August, but that trend has now reversed…
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That reversal could strengthen if incoming president Donald Trump makes good on his promise to lay tariffs on all imported goods, economists told The Wall Street Journal. His announced tariff plans would raise consumer prices across a wide range of items.
Prices’ upward push could confound the U.S. Federal Reserve’s plan to cut interest rates when it meets this week. Speculators have been betting that a quarter-point rate cut is a virtual certainty.
“Overall, we’re looking at an environment where the low-hanging fruit has been picked and it’s getting harder to make further inroads in reining in inflation,” senior Wells Fargo economist Sarah House told the WSJ.
“We’re getting to a point where you really need the demand side of the economy to weaken,” she added. “That’s what makes the last mile so hard.”
That would mean consumers paring their spending.
In the short term, that is unlikely to happen. Consumers have shown increasing confidence in the economy beginning this fall and particularly after the 5 November elections.
On 10 December, the National Federation of Independent Business reported its optimism index of small businesses shot up in November to its highest point since June 2021.
The Business Roundtable’s CEO Economic Outlook Index found that companies’ plans for capital investment, hiring, and sales are their most robust in more than two years.
“Mainstream households are feeling more confident and are returning to their pre-[COVID] shopping patterns more quickly,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen said on an earnings call earlier this month.
TREND FORECAST:
Consumers may be feeling confident but that will not translate into a flurry of new spending.
As we have noted in dozens of articles over the past two years, households have spent the COVID-era stimulus checks, drained their savings, and maxed out their credit cards.
As much as consumers might like to boost spending, they have little means to do it.
Any rise in real consumer spending in the new year will begin modestly, not only for the United States, but for the rest of the world… as GDP growth remains sluggish.
Another Gold & Silver Bull Catalyst
King World News note: Another wave of inflation is just another catalyst for the gold and silver bull markets and mining stocks, which continue to climb a “Wall of Terror.” Despite extraordinarily negative sentiment, massive upside is ahead not only for the metals, but particularly silver and the mining stocks. Continue to accumulate silver and the high-quality mining stocks.
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