Financial analyst believes inflation will end

Chattanoogans experiencing rising gas, food prices

CHATTANOOGA (WDEF) — Inflation continues to ravage the local economy here in the Tennessee Valley.

40-year highs for inflation are still impacting critical resources for Chattanoogans on everything from gasoline to food.

Inflation is only expected to get worse due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis overseas and the new sanctions imposed on Russia by President Biden.

However, local financial analyst Chris Hopkins believes that while we are all feeling the pain at the pump right now, we may not be for much longer.

“This is probably pretty temporary,” Hopkins said. “It’s an overhang from COVID. As time goes on and the supply chain loosens up, I really expect that in the second half of this year, we’ll see inflation start to peak and then moderate and head back down. It wouldn’t surprise me to see us back down in the three-to-four percent range certainly by the end of the year, maybe lower than three.”

Hopkins added that he believes Chattanooga is in a “sweet spot” in terms of small-city economics, noting that the city’s unemployment rate is low at 2.9% — a whole point lower than the national average.