Inflation, Rates, & More

Week in Review: June 10-14

2024 started with a barrage of bad news on the inflation front. That changed this week, with three different measures showing that inflation slowed in May. Beyond that, we learned more about small business optimism, consumer sentiment, the Fed’s outlook, and more.

We had two posts earlier this week—Election Primer Part 2 and Wednesday Links—both of which are free for all subscribers.

Monday

TSA Checkpoint Travel Numbers

Americans continue to travel at a record pace—TSA screened the most passengers ever during the week ending June 11^th.

Tuesday

NFIB Small Business Optimism Index

This measure of small business owner optimism rose to the highest level of 2024 during May, but it’s still really low by historical standards. Small business owner uncertainty, on the other hand, increased to the highest level since November 2020. No coincidence there—presidential elections bring heightened uncertainty.

Gas Prices

Gas prices fell for the seventh straight week, are about $0.18/gallon cheaper than they were one month ago, and will keep falling going forward.

Diesel Prices

Diesel prices fell yet again and are at the lowest level in 2.5 years.

Wednesday

Consumer Price Index (Inflation)