Why the economy could be headed for an inflation roller coaster ride
That's according to Liz Ann Sonders, the chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, who thinks that inflation is going to be on a roller coaster ride going forward as the economy digests the impacts of President Donald Trump's tariffs.
Economists have warned that tariffs could be inflationary, but so far the effect on prices has been relatively mild.
Members of Trump's administration have said tariffs could cause a "one-time" price increase as companies make that transition. However, Sonders said that's unlikely, pointing to how the president's guidance around tariffs has whipsawed in recent months.
"The problem is, there is no one time as it relates to the implementation of tariffs. It has been rifle-shot on, off, delays, tariffs being used as a tool beyond just raising revenues or improving the trade deficit. So I think we've got the rolling nature of this," Sonders said, speaking to Bloomberg on Wednesday.
Sonders pointed to her previous view that the economy had been through a rolling recession over the last few years, referring to the idea that a downturn doesn't strike all at once, but rather there are "pockets" that crop up at different times.
"I think that's manifesting itself in the inflation data too, the rolling nature of it, where you see pockets of impact on the upside, you maybe get some pockets of offset on the downside as opposed to anything that is one-time in nature," she added.
Trump has often pushed hard on tariff policies before softening his tone. The president announced his " Liberation Day" tariffs in early April, before delaying most of the duties by 90 days and then by another month as he worked to secure trade agreements with other nations.
The deadline for higher tariffs on China has also been extended for 90 days.
The pace of inflation has fluctuated so far in 2025. Price growth peaked at the start of the year at around 3%, before declining and rising again in the months following April, when Trump first introduced his sweeping array of tariffs.
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