Powell finally gets it. Hopefully not too late. The yield curve was narrowing rapidly these past few weeks, as short rates continued to climb in anticipation that Powell meant what he said in early October about future rate hikes being needed, while long rates reacted to the huge decline in commodity prices. Those declines signaled the potential for DEflation, although the rate of decline has not gotten extreme. We’ll be watching closely to see how the short-term interest rates and commodity prices react to Powell’s speech.
