It's interesting that the UK just released a 3% producer price increase number and the US recently had its highest reading on the same at 2.8%. Even deflationary Japan had a +2.1% reading. Is inflation rising worldwide as a result of every economy being on low-interest rate life support?
It's interesting that Grant's Interest Rate Observer is predicting that the Fed Funds rate will lower again, but the wisdom of that I cannot understand since it would only create more inflation.
The current market has a large over-valuation predicated on very low interest rates. If inflation pushes up rates, you would expect a 30% to 40% correction in stock market valuations, quickly. This is a very tricky landscape to navigate.
Do any of you have recommendations on symbols to watch that are a good proxy for inflation markers? I thought futures contracts on gasoline (which are on Yahoo) might be a good proxy, but so far those do not show increases in 2019 and 2020. That may reflect the underlying deterioration of the oil market due to oversupply, though. What are some other futures contracts or markers - preferably that have Yahoo or Google symbols and are therefore free to watch and convenient to add into watchlist tools - for inflation?
