Overheard in the queue of a City of London lunchtime sandwich bar this week, four traders complaining about their energy bills:
Trader 1: It turns out it’s not the heating bill that’s the problem, I’ve been shocked by the massive electricity bill I just got.
Trader 2: Exactly, that’s what I thought … the heating was going to be the killer, it’s the electricity.
Trader 3: Tell me about it, we’re still heating, but it’s the washer, the dryer....
Trader 4: And you got kids, mate!
Trader 2: I know, so we’ve been still having to run the dryer or put the clothes on the radiators, as the weather’s been so wet, the clothes haven’t been drying outside.
This past week’s U.S. consumer price index report for December was further confirmation that inflation did peak back in June, at 9.1%, and that the momentum continues to be toward further deceleration. However, the stickier services component remains, well, sticky. In this Economics Weekly, we highlight several takeaways from the report and what it means for the market and the Fed.
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Richard de Chazal, CFA, is a London-based macroeconomist covering the U.S. economy and financial markets.