Stagflation Update: M2 Money Supply

As an update to this CD post on stagflation using M1 money supply, the chart above compares the growth of M2 during the peak of the stagflation period of the 1970s (the 85 month period from December 1974 to December of 1981) to the growth of M2 over the last 85 months, from January 2001 to January 2008. (M2 is set to equal an index value of 100 in the beginning month of each sample period.)

Notice that there is a significant difference between the two periods: During the 1970s, M2 grew by almost 95%, compared to a 50% growth during the last 7 years.

Bottom Line: The money supply data (M1 and M2) don't support the position that we are entering a period of 1970s-like stagflation.