Supply chain pressures rose but remained quite low at the start of the year suggesting shipping disruptions tied to trouble in the Middle East have yet to manifest themselves in generalized disruptions, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The bank's Global Supply Chain Pressure Index for January moved to -0.11, from December’s -0.15. A reading below zero suggests below normal supply chain pressures. January's reading remains also well below the record 4.33 reading hit in December 2021, when supply chains around the world were hard hit by disruptions tied to the coronavirus pandemic. That supply chain upheaval was a key driver in a global surge in inflation pressures that drove the Federal Reserve to raise its short-term interest rate target aggressively while taking steps to also reduce the size of its footprint in bond markets. Over recent months inflation pressures have abated so sharply that the Fed is now weighing cuts in its interest rate target, although that easing appears likely to come slower than many in markets had been expecting.
