Surging producer price inflation reflects supply-chain pressures: Fitch Ratings

June 24, 2021: Producer prices have risen sharply in recent months in the wake of supply-chain pressures and rising commodity prices. At the same time, retail sales and industrial production have surged following rapid re-openings of economies, as illustrated in Fitch Ratings’ latest ‘20/20 Vision’.

Prices of goods leaving factories in April and May rose at the highest annual growth rates in a decade across most of the larger economies. This partly reflects base effects from the impact of strict lockdowns imposed a year ago, but also current supply-chain disruptions, shortages of semiconductors and surging commodity prices. Retail sales have rebounded sharply on a year-on-year basis, with the recovery in consumer spending largely focused on spending on goods.

This bi-monthly macro data dashboard tracks 20 high-frequency data series for each of the “Fitch20” countries (plus the eurozone): GDP, industrial production, PMI, exports, imports, retail sales, consumer confidence, wage inflation, employment, unemployment, CPI, PPI, house prices, exchange rates (nominal and real), bond yields, policy rates, money supply, share prices, household loans and corporate loans chart pack. ‘The 20/20 Vision’ report is available at www.fitchratings.com.

Fitch Ratings