If oil prices continue to rise and the RMB continues to appreciate, the U.S. inflation rate may increase at a faster pace in the near future. And this would have an unwelcome impact on consumers’ wallets.

Oil price shocks appear to have only transitory effects on headline inflation and virtually no impact on measures of underlying trend inflation.

Okun’s law can be a useful guide for monetary policy, but only if the natural rate of unemployment is properly measured.>