sagflation

S1A1G2F4L1A1T1I1O1N1

noun

A period of economic stagnation combined with inflation, which is distinct from more severe stagflation because growth is slowing rather than declining.

Scrabble 14

Meanings

nounsagflation (countable and uncountable, plural sagflations)

plural sagflations

  1. countableuncountableeconomicsA period of economic stagnation combined with inflation, which is distinct from more severe stagflation because growth is slowing rather than declining.

    That three-decade old specter of stagflation is unlikely to return, but a less dramatic version that some analysts have coined "sagflation" or "stagflation-lite" may be around the corner.

    2007 August 9, John Parry, “Global commodities, food inflation may lift U.S. yields”, in Reuters, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2025
    3 more examples

    Moody's is not optimistic that this ongoing crisis can be resolved within the existing relationships between lenders and borrowers, and we believe that some form of subsidized solution may evolve. In this situation, a reversal in interest rates and renewed inflation without strong economic growth (a reprise of the sagflation of the 1970s) might well precipitate another crisis, particularly for supranational lending agencies.

    1987, Moody's Bond Survey, volume 79, numbers 14-22, Moody's Investors Service., page 6967

    "While the Fed will not yet be forced to raise rates to arrest rising inflation, it will be handcuffed from cutting rates to stimulate growth," he said, in a note to clients. "This precursor stage to stagflation deserves its own name; let's call it ‘sagflation.’"

    2007 April 27, Wanfeng Zhou, MarketWatch, “Dollar hits record low vs. euro”, in MarketWatch, archived from the original on 15 Jan 2024

    While it is true that inflation and interest rate fears allow bears to dominate, long-term investors should not give undue weightage to the problem. Equity investors will have to keep a tab on inflation levels and interest rates only up to a point where we don’t reach stagflation or hyperinflation. A sagflation situation will be a damaging condition for the equity markets. Per se, only inflationary levels should not bother long-term equity investors. In fact, an inflationary situation can be good for several sectors and companies. Banks and financials may see improvement in the margins. Commodity players tend to thrive and make record profits in an inflationary environment.

    2022 April 21, Ninad Ramdasi, “Inflation, Interest Rates And Equity Markets”, in Dalal Street Investment Journal, archived from the original on 05 Apr 2025

Origin

Cite this entry
APA

sagflation. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sagflation

MLA

“sagflation.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sagflation. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sagflation,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sagflation.

Source: sagflation on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.