Stephen Stanley Prices Quotations

Fed officials have made clear that their heightened inflation concerns are related more to the outlook than the present situation. Thus, inflation fears have intensified even as core measures of prices have been exceedingly well behaved.

The big picture is still that 10-year yields are up 100 basis points (1 percentage point) in basically a month, so to see a 5- or 10-basis-point pullback is not a big deal. It's just a wiggle on the charts, ... You will get wiggles here and there, and whether it's driven by surprises in economic data, or in geopolitics, oil prices or stocks is anyone's guess.

Gasoline prices are coming off nicely in February, so the Michigan figure is almost certain to rise within the next month or two.

The economy is clearly strong right now, and that's what these numbers reflect. In the short term, there's a risk people will pull back on spending, but that depends on how long gas prices stay high, and so far there's not much evidence the consumer is slowing down.

The indicators of prices ... are beginning to point more clearly toward inflation pressures.

The main story was oil. Volumes and prices both rose in June, so petroleum imports jumped sharply.