CPI

CPI figures for December matched consensus estimates.  The Federal Reserve should be pleased to see the modest uptrend in prices.  Sustained price inflation still faces a number headwinds including: resource slack, a strong Dollar and a weakening Yuan. Energy prices saw the largest gains in 2016 after a brutal 2015. Within the Core CPI, medical care experienced notable gains.

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CPI numbers were largely in line. There are encouraging signs that inflation is turning on a global basis. The path to sustained higher inflation is not going to be a smooth one and too much enthusiasm can prematurely end this reflation theme. We are encouraged by the general uptrend in inflation and inflation expectations but certainly do not want to take higher inflation as a given.

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· Headline CPI was in line but Core CPI missed.

The powerful prospect of a huge fiscal stimulus, a substantial tax cut and meaningful deregulation stoked hopes for higher growth and inflation. The Trump-induced reflation trade is still considered risk positive.  The market is putting a lot of faith in Trump’s new policy package but its actual impact on the economy remains to be seen.

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Headline CPI was in line but Core CPI missed.  The current reading still fits the overall “Goldilocks” inflation backdrop and should be considered favorable for the risk rally. The reason behind the recent rise in inflation expectations was the market’s perception of a policy shift away from monetary easing towards fiscal easing.

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Inflation is slightly stronger than expected but has no impact on policy decisions. Right now, both the market and the data are telling the Fed to put the rate hike on hold. If the Fed decides to pass in September, there is a very good chance that the Fed might not be able to hike at all this year.

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Inflation is weak in July but the rebound in oil prices, the renewed weakness in the dollar and the strength in Chinese Yuan are all positive for inflation expectations in the near term. The disinflationary headwinds from outside of the U.S. are only getting stronger, not weaker. It’s hard to disagree with the market’s low rate hike expectations.

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The latest CPI reading is positive for the overall risk rally. We continue to recommend a more patient approach towards inflation. The key market-based drivers of inflation have turned negative. But the recent key economic numbers have mostly exceeded expectations.

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The latest jobs report disappointed but we think it’s a short term aberration as other data still point to a healthy job market. Some of the key market-based inflation drivers, however, have reversed course a bit in the last couple weeks. Patience is still the right strategy.

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Inflation exceeded expectations in April. The more durable inflation measures such as wage inflation are also improving. We characterize the recent improvement in inflation as a relief from the threat of deflation but still quite far from being a catalyst for run-away inflation.

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Inflation missed expectations in March.  The three key inflation drivers this year - oil, the Dollar and the Chinese yuan, are all going in the right direction.  The risk of being too early on the inflation call far outweighs the risk of being too late.  Patience is still recommended.

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Inflation met or modestly exceeded expectations. The three key drivers for inflation (oil, the Dollar and the Chinese yuan) continued to improve. But we are not rushing to declare victory on disinflation. “Organic” inflation, such as sustained wage inflation, has been very elusive so far.

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Both CPI and PPI surprised to the upside.The three key drivers for inflation (oil, the Dollar and the Chinese yuan) all saw some improvements.  Despite the recent improvements, we are still in no hurry to call the bottom in inflation.  The downturn in the energy and manufacturing industries has wide-reaching effects. Patience and caution are still warranted.

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Inflation was lower than expected in December.  The three key drivers for inflation this year are oil, the Dollar and the Chinese yuan. None of these are helping so far.  We have been avoiding inflation sensitive assets and do not see any reasons to catch the falling knife at this point.

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Inflation was largely in line with expectations in November.  The impact of lower energy prices seems to have lessened as the year-over-year comparison gets better.  We are far from ready to call a return of inflation. The ISM price indexes supported our still cautious view towards inflation.

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Inflation met expectations in October.  Overall inflation not under-shooting expectations is likely to give the Fed some comfort when it decides on the rate hike in December. Various wage inflation measures show some promise but we will be patient and wait for confirmation.

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Inflation met or slightly beat expectations in September.  We are watching the oil prices and the dollar closely for signs that the disinflationary headwind might be dying down.

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Longer term drivers of inflation, such as velocity of money, capacity utilization, wage inflation, all suggest disinflation is here to stay.  It’s still too early to call the bottom in oil prices so we continue to expect weaker producers’ inflation ahead.

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The current inflation numbers are not yet reflective of the recent sell off in oil prices so we expect even weaker inflation going forward.

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With the recent weakness in oil prices and the renewed strength of the U.S. dollar, we would not be surprised to see weaker headline numbers in the next few months. The expectations of a rate hike might actually end up pushing the rate hike further out. We are now less sanguine about a pick-up in PPI in the rest of the year.

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While there’s understandable obsession over the likely level of inflation (especially with the year-over-year CPI dipping below zero in the past two months), equity managers with no interest or skill in inflation forecasting might be better served by monitoring the character of inflation—i.e., whether it was led by changes in consumer or producer prices.

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