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Well the proverbial hit the fan overnight when the latest inflation figures came out showing annual US inflation has climbed to 6.2%.

And once again the expert forecasters were way off the the mark.

From Kitco

I was listening to the ABC yesterday and the presenter was interviewing a representative from the hospitality industry. The discussion was about a new phenomenon where hospitality premises are starting to close down again, not because of Covid, but because they cannot get skilled workers. The spokesperson was bemoaning the fact that without the backpackers, foreign students, and the influx of skilled temporary or skilled migrants, the employees just could not find the staff.

The cheap labor will start coming back in dribs and drabs over time (unless of course there is another covid shutdown - always on the cards).

So the employees are going to have to start improving the wages and conditions on offer to potential employees.

Coupled with the scarcity of truck drivers, increases in fuel, transport costs are going to get more expensive, which will flow through to everything we buy or shift.

As is often the case, the authorities will not know or admit  that inflation is already away before they clumsily try to do something about it.

Mick