THE BOTTOM LINE
The economic shock that’s almost too hot to handle
El Nino deals a new blow to supply chains and prices that central bankers must now reckon with
TO SAY that central banks dislike making policy based on extreme weather is an understatement. But they cannot duck the economic reverberations of the powerful El Nino that is roiling Asia.
The dry spell is another shock that the monetary authorities could do without. They spent years getting on top of the inflation surge that followed the post-pandemic economic reopening and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Officials watched with trepidation as the US imposed extensive tariffs, and then had to deal with the spike in energy prices from the Iran war.
