President Joe Biden is in denial about inflation.
This week he superficially addressed the problem by admitting the obvious – that prices have been rising rapidly this year – while denying that the inflation surge represents anything out of the ordinary.
“Some folks have raised worries that this could be a sign of persistent inflation, but that’s not our view,” Biden said. “Our experts believe and the data shows that most of the price increases we’ve seen [were] expected and expected to be temporary.”
Trust the experts! After all, when have they been wrong about anything…besides wars and pandemics?
Well, they’ve been quite wrong lately when it comes to inflation.
The Department of Labor reported last week a 5.4% jump in the Consumer Price Index from June 2020 to June 2021. None of Biden’s experts had expected a move that large.
The White House Budget Office had forecast inflation of 2.1% in 2021 in its recent budget proposal. Inflation is running at more than double that rate.
The Federal Reserve has also underestimated inflation month after month in policy meetings this year. Officials insist the overshoots are “transitory,” but what if they are wrong about that, too?
Could it be that all these so-called “experts” have agendas to push other than the objective truth? Whether it’s to promote a political narrative, provide cover for monetary policy, or pitch Wall Street financial instruments, inflation deniers serve powerful interests who don’t want the public to perceive or act upon a growing inflation threat.
Debates over inflation aren’t merely academic. Misjudging inflation can have terrible consequences for investors.
If markets are underestimating real-world inflation and under-pricing inflation risk going forward, then entire asset classes may now be mis-priced.
That makes for a dangerous investing environment.
Consider the most obvious case in point: the bond market. The math on whether bonds are yielding enough to provide positive real returns is pretty simple. If inflation is running at 5%, for example, then bonds must yield at least 5% in order to preserve investors’ purchasing power.
If inflation is expected to run higher in the future, then investors should demand a yield premium (especially on long-term bonds) over and above the current inflation rate in order to compensate for the risk of rising inflation down the road.
Instead, bondholders are getting stuck with yields in the 1% - 2% range – not enough even to stay ahead of the Fed’s own stated inflation objective, let alone recent headline inflation.
If markets are underestimating inflation, then they are also assigning excessive valuations to most sectors of the stock market. The price to earnings ratio on a stock reflects implicit assumptions about future growth. Inflation renders that growth less valuable.
If markets are underestimating inflation, then precious metals are underpriced. The upside potential of gold and silver prices is tied directly to the downside risk of the U.S. dollar; i.e., inflation.
When investors stop believing inflation is transitory and start hedging their portfolios to become more resilient to rising price levels, there are few asset classes to which they can turn other than precious metals.
Rapidly rising gold and silver prices serve as a signal of underlying problems in the fiscal and monetary systems, which is why the powers that be seek to talk down the inflation threat.
The Biden administration wants nothing to get in the way of its spending agenda. As the White House denies its $1.9 trillion American Relief Plan has stoked inflation pressures, it is now pushing a $1.2 trillion infrastructure package and $3.5 trillion in additional spending.
Notably, while other administrations both Republican and Democrat have ramped up spending and ran up deficits, this is the first one in history that has done so without offering any concessions to fiscal restraint.
Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers is among the few Democrats pushing back against the free-wheeling deficit spending philosophy that has overtaken Washington. Summers, concerned about rising inflation, also wants to see the Federal Reserve curtail its stimulus programs.
For now, though, political demand for additional fiscal and monetary stimulus is overwhelming. The resulting inflation pressures could overwhelm financial markets and cause unexpected pain to investors who have failed to allocate portfolio space to hard assets.
Money Metals Exchange and its staff do not act as personal investment advisors for any specific individual. Nor do we advocate the purchase or sale of any regulated security listed on any exchange for any specific individual. Readers and customers should be aware that, although our track record is excellent, investment markets have inherent risks and there can be no guarantee of future profits. Likewise, our past performance does not assure the same future. You are responsible for your investment decisions, and they should be made in consultation with your own advisors. By purchasing through Money Metals, you understand our company not responsible for any losses caused by your investment decisions, nor do we have any claim to any market gains you may enjoy. This Website is provided “as is,” and Money Metals disclaims all warranties (express or implied) and any and all responsibility or liability for the accuracy, legality, reliability, or availability of any content on the Website.
Recommended Content
Editors’ Picks
USD/JPY holds positive ground around 151.50 following Japanese CPI data
The USD/JPY pair holds positive ground for the second consecutive day near 151.45 on Friday during the early Asian trading hours. The cautious approach from the Bank of Japan to keep monetary conditions accommodative exerts some selling pressure on the Japanese Yen.
AUD/USD holds above 0.6500 in thin trading
The Australian Dollar managed to recover ground against its American rival after AUD/USD fell to 0.6484. The upbeat tone of Wall Street underpinned the Aussie despite broad US Dollar strength and tepid Australian data.
Gold price finishes Thursday’s session set to reach new all-time highs
Gold price rallied during the North American session on Thursday and hit a new all-time high of $2,225 in the mid-North American session. Precious metal prices are trending higher even though US Treasury yields are advancing, underpinning the Greenback.
Top 3 Price Prediction BTC, ETH, XRP: Retail watches from the sidelines with a bias for shorts
Bitcoin is showing strength as markets head into the Easter holidays. As it rises, altcoins are following suit, with Ethereum and Ripple posting almost similar gains. Meanwhile, there remains an unfilled CME Gap, with a lot of liquidity also resting above and below BTC price.
Bears have been standing before a steamroller so far this year
Despite a pushback on rate cuts from Christopher Waller, and what was supposed to be cautious trading sentiment ahead of critical US inflation data released later on Friday, the S&P 500 rose on Thursday, marking its best first-quarter performance in five years.