Under Chair Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve never anticipated inflation this severe or persistent. Yet after having been merely an afterthought for decades, high inflation reasserted itself with ferocious speed as shortages of labor and supplies ran up against a propulsive rise in demand for goods and services across the economy.
US retail sales unexpectedly fell in May as motor vehicle purchases declined amid rampant shortages, and record high gasoline prices pulled spending away from other goods.
"Japan has some positive cues and its fundamentals are relatively firm, with reopening of the economy and the weakened yen," Mitsui said.The volume of shares traded on the Tokyo Stock Exchange's main board was 1.24 billion, compared to the average of 1.36 billion in the past 30 days.
America's rampant inflation is imposing severe pressures on families, forcing them to pay much more for food, gas and rent and reducing their ability to afford discretionary items, from haircuts to electronics. Lower-income and Black and Hispanic Americans, in particular, are struggling because, on average, a larger proportion of their income is consumed by necessities.
Some individual categories of goods have skyrocketed over the past year. Grocery prices, for example, have shot up 10.8 per cent, the largest year-over-year jump since 1980. The cost of a gallon of gas fell 6.1 per cent in April but is still up nearly 44 per cent from a year ago.
Prices have been driven up by bottlenecked supply chains, robust consumer demand and disruptions to global food and energy markets worsened by Russia's war against Ukraine.
In Japan, market heavyweights fell, with Uniqlo clothing shop owner Fast Retailing losing 3.09%, technology investor SoftBank Group slipping 3.92% while air-conditioner maker Daikin Industries dropped 4.1%.
"A modest acceleration (in inflation) reinforces the idea that the Fed is likelier to make a more formal announcement that a taper is imminent," DailyFX currency strategist Ilya Spivak said.
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