ACTV - Is The 'Vibe-Cession' For US Consumers On Its Way Out?
2024-01-26 23:46:00 ET
Summary
- The unemployment rate stayed under 4%, wage growth outpaced inflation and the stock market ended the year at an all-time high.
- Monthly inflation data measures the percentage change in price levels. So, when inflation falls from 9.1% to 3.4%, as it has over the past 18 months, prices are still rising but more slowly.
- Policymakers have no interest in pushing prices down; deflation would almost certainly require a nasty recession and, over the long run, be more disruptive to economic growth than inflation would.
By Eric Winograd.
Is The 'Vibe-Cession' For US Consumers On Its Way Out?Falling inflation hasn’t yet translated into good feelings among US consumers. Based on the latest data, that might be changing.