'Xiflation' cooling muddles US$100 trillion inflation riddle

Washington

CENTRAL bankers and investors are grappling with a US$100 trillion question: why consumer price inflation remains so low in most parts of the world even as economic growth quickens.

Compounding the riddle, question marks are now emerging over the one part of the global inflation picture that had been moving higher - producer prices. That's because two engines of that turnaround - China's resurgent factories and prospects for tax-cut fuelled stimulus under President Donald Trump - are showing signs of fading.

Which way the inflation mystery unravels is crucial for the global monetary policy outlook and the world's US$100 trillion bond market. And as with any puzzle, there are rival camp…