Stagflation is a condition where there is persistently high inflation combined with high unemployment and stagnant demand in a country’s economy. As the Coronavirus wreaks havoc with the global economy, markets have experienced a deflationary spiral where prices have moved appreciably lower. On Monday, March 23, the price of nearby gasoline futures on the NYMEX division of the CME fell to a low of 37.6 cents per gallon wholesale. The last time the fuel traded at that level was in 1999 when the price reached a bottom at 32.55 cents.
Coronavirus has claimed countless victims