Inflation can be like molasses.
It often moves slowly - until it doesn't.1
Overall, inflation tends to be a heavily lagging economic indicator, with upward price pressures typically not being realized until an economy has already reached the overheating stage. For instance, a country's labor market may be stretched beyond capacity, while at the same time, prices are only modestly budging upward.
2019, anyone?
It's no secret that one of the principal reasons the U.S. Federal Reserve (the Fed) shelved plans for rate increases through at least the first three quarters of this year