Re: Inflation is back. Biden should be worried

[Yak]

MattB. wrote

> Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
>
> https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> ndex.html
>

Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else.

Canada's socialist government has no inflation and there's none in the UK or
Europe either. Not even Cuba. And then there's how gas prices are only
high in the USA and no where else because Biden is weak and refuses to let
the goverment control everything like Trump would have.


We need Trump back so he can sign some executive orders outlawing inflation
and high gas prices.

Gas prices are especially high in oil rich Texas because Greg Abbott hates
Texas and wants everybody to pay through the nose.


It's all about Government fixing it, not the invisible hand of the free
market.

[Yak]

[Yak]

[Yak]

[Yak]

[(David P.)]

Yak wrote:
> MattB. wrote
>
> > Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
> >
> > https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> > ndex.html
> >
>

> Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else?
------
Yer Stoopid, shut the fsck up!
............
Gas prices skyrocket as the global energy crisis worsens
By Matt Egan, CNN Business, Oct 11, 2021

New York (CNN Business) The cost of energy was dirt cheap
in the spring of 2020 as roads and airports sat nearly
empty during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Energy demand is back today as the world economy reopens
-- but supply simply hasn't kept up. That's why US oil
prices have skyrocketed $120 since crashing to negative
$40 a barrel in April 2020. US oil prices finished above
$80 a barrel on Monday for the 1st time in nearly 7 years.

Crude gained 1.5% to end the day at $80.52. The last time
oil closed above $80 was Oct 31, 2014.

All of this is leading to sticker shock for many Americans
filling up at the pump -- at a time of the year when gas
prices typically cool off. The national average price for
gasoline hit a fresh 7-year high of $3.27/gal on Monday,
up by 7 cents in the past week alone, according to AAA.
Gas has nearly doubled since bottoming at $1.77 in Apr'20.

High gas prices will only exacerbate elevated inflation,
squeeze the budgets of American families & hurt Biden's
political fortunes. Unfortunately, prices at the pump
may get lifted even higher by the global energy crisis.

Natural gas prices have skyrocketed so much, esp. in Europe
& Asia, that power plants & factories may increasingly
turn to a relatively cheaper fuel source for electricity:
crude oil.

"It's a case of just trying to keep the lights on," said
Matt Smith, Kpler's lead oil analyst for the Americas.
"This is essentially creating demand that typically
isn't there,"

$100 oil in the cards?
====================
Citigroup on Monday ramped up its Brent oil forecast to
$85 a barrel for the 4th quarter & said crude will likely
hit $90 at times. The Wall Street bank cited "price
contagion this winter" and the expected switching of
power plants away from sky-high natural gas to oil.

Citi added that a "very cold winter" could see Europe
"running out of gas" by February.

Oil has long been there as a potential substitute for
natural gas -- except until recently, it didn't make any
financial sense. That's because for much of the past dozen
years, natural gas prices have been very low, making
switching to oil uneconomical.

But in Europe, natural gas prices have gone from below
$2 per million BTU last year to as much as $55 this fall.
That is the equivalent of $320 a barrel oil.

Bank of America has warned that a cold winter could boost
oil demand by half a million barrels per day, lifting
Brent crude to $100 a barrel. That in turn would cause
more sticker shock for American drivers because gas prices
are priced off Brent crude.

"We may just be one storm away from the next macro
hurricane," Bank of America strategists wrote in a
recent note to clients.

Record coal prices in China
=========================
It's not just high natural gas prices that are playing a
role here. Chinese coal prices have hit record highs amid
flooding in northern China that forced the closure of
dozens of coal mines. Coal remains the main source of
energy in China, used for heating, power generation and
steelmaking. China is now grappling with power shortages,
prompting the government to ration electricity during peak
hours and some countries to suspend production.

Against this backdrop, gasoline prices have crept higher &
higher in the United States -- adding to inflationary
pressures gripping the economy.

Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy,
said $3.30 gas prices nationally are likely around the corner.

"Looking out on the horizon, I really don't see an organized
drop in prices," said De Haan. "The market is starting to
feel explosive. The fundamentals are there for that to
continue."

OPEC in the driver's seat
======================
While demand is strong, oil supplies have simply not kept
pace. US oil production has been slow to rebound from Covid
-- even as prices have surged. Many US oil companies are
leery of once again oversupplying the market & they're far
more focused on returning cash to shareholders who have
lost gobs of money over the past decade.

Despite the White House's calls for OPEC & its allies to
significantly ramp up production, the group has only
gradually increased output sidelined in early 2020. For
now, they seem content to let oil prices remain elevated.

"They have always been the swing producer," said Kpler's
Smith, "but my gosh they certainly hold the power right now."

https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/11/business/gas-prices-oil-opec/index.html

[Yak]

MattB. wrote

> Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
>
> https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> ndex.html
>

Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else.

[Yak]

[Yak]

[(David P.)]

Yak wrote:
> MattB. wrote
>
> > Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
> >
> > https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> > ndex.html
> >
> Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else.
> Canada's socialist government has no inflation and there's none in the UK or
> Europe either. Not even Cuba. And then there's how gas prices are only
> high in the USA and no where else because Biden is weak and refuses to let

> the govt control everything like Trump would have.
---------
Turkish Lira Tumbles After Erdogan Renews Call for Unorthodox Rate Cuts
By Ostroff & Malsin, 11/17/21, Wall St. Journal

Turkey’s currency slid for the 7th day in a row, propelled
by fears that the country’s central bank will allow raging
inflation to overwhelm the economy.

The lira shed 2.7% of its value against the dollar on
Wednesday, giving the emerging market currency a slide of
nearly 10% in 10 days. The lira is the worst-performing
major emerging-market currency of the year & is on course
for its 9th consecutive year of declines, down almost
30% this year.

Investors fled the lira in recent days anticipating that
Turkey’s central bank will cut its main policy rate when
it meets on Thursday.

Usually central banks raise interest rates to fight
inflation since it makes borrowing more expensive, slowing
down the economy & reducing demand for goods & services.
Higher rates also attract capital into an economy,
strengthening the currency & causing the price of
imported goods to drop.

Inflation in Turkey reached nearly 20% in October by <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
official measures. The central bank cut interest rates
during both its Sept & Oct meetings. Many expect it to cut
the benchmark one-week repo rate to 15% from 16% when it
meets on Thursday.

Expectations for the central bank to cut rates ramped up
on Wednesday after President Erdogan repeated his desire
for low interest rates to stimulate economic growth.

During a speech to members of his party on Wednesday,
Erdogan invoked a religious prohibition on usury in his
argument against high interest rates. “As long as I’m in
office I'll continue our struggle against interest rates
until the very end. I'll continue my struggle against
inflation until the very end,” he said.

Erdogan has repeatedly intervened at the central bank to
install officials who side with his unorthodox economic
strategy. Erdogan has fired 3 central-bank governors in
the past 2 years, most recently in March. He has fired
several other top officials at the bank.

Investors say they've lost confidence that the central
bank would be able to increase interest rates to a level
near or above inflation.

“Considering the statements that Erdogan made earlier today,
the market is completely spooked about what could happen
tomorrow,” said Phoenix Kalen, a strategist at Societe
Generale. She expects the central bank to cut its benchmark
rate by 1% Thursday.

https://www.wsj.com/articles/turkish-lira-tumbles-after-erdogan-renews-call-for-unorthodox-rate-cuts-11637169979

[(David P.)]

Yak wrote:
> MattB. wrote
>
> > Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
> >
> > https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> > ndex.html
> >
> Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else.

------------
Nov. 24 article:
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/11/24/inflation-has-risen-around-the-world-but-the-u-s-has-seen-one-of-the-biggest-increases/

[El Castor]

One issue is the cost of fuel. Workers commute, trucks deliver food
and other commodities, corporations use energy to manufacture our
products, and for the first time I just paid more than $50 to fill the
tank of my car. Half of US homes are heated with natural gas, and many
more with propane and oil. Those homeowners are looking at a 50%
increase in the cost of heating their homes this winter. Why? We can
thank Joe Biden for crippling a US oil and gas industry, which BTW
cost hundreds of thousands of jobs, and until Biden came along had
made the US energy independent. Now he asks the Middle East to bail us
out!

"Biden’s energy idiocy: Kneecap US oil but beg OPEC to pump more"
https://nypost.com/2021/08/12/bidens-energy-idiocy-kneecap-us-oil-but-beg-opec-to-pump-more/

[Yak]

MattB. wrote

> Inflation is back. Biden should be worried
>
> https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/25/business/inflation-economic-growth-biden/i
> ndex.html
>

Why is inflation only happening in the USA and nowhere else.

Canada's socialist government has no inflation and there's none in the UK or
Europe either. Not even Cuba. And then there's how gas prices are only
high in the USA and no where else because Biden is weak and refuses to let

[Yak]