Inflation has peaked — but it's not returning to pre-Covid levels in 2023, Mastercard says

Inflation has already peaked, but it volition stay supra pre-Covid levels successful 2023, said David Mann, main economist for Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa astatine the Mastercard Economics Institute.

"Inflation has seen its highest this year, but it volition inactive beryllium supra what we had been utilized to pre-pandemic adjacent year," Mann told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" connected Friday. 

It'll instrumentality a fewer years to instrumentality to 2019 levels, helium said. 

"We bash expect that we spell backmost down successful the absorption of wherever we were backmost successful 2019 wherever we were inactive debating however galore countries needed antagonistic involvement rates."

Central banks astir the satellite person been hiking involvement rates arsenic precocious arsenic November successful effect to precocious inflation.

They see cardinal banks from the Group of 10 countries — specified arsenic the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England and the Reserve Bank of Australia — arsenic good those of emerging markets, specified arsenic Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and the Philippines, Reuters reported.

The Fed volition clasp its December argumentation gathering this week, wherever it is expected to hike involvement rates by 50 ground points. The cardinal slope has raised rates by 375 ground points truthful acold this year. 

"Inflation has go that large challenge. It's been spiking and staying precise high," Mann said. But helium warned that it would beryllium risky if cardinal banks extremity up hiking rates much than they request to. 

"The situation is if you've mislaid predisposition of wherever the entity and the crushed is, you're not rather definite wherever you request to extremity up," Mann said. 

It would beryllium a "serious scenario" if cardinal banks "end up going somewhat excessively acold and past request to reverse comparatively quickly," helium added. 

Despite precocious inflation, Mann said, U.S. consumers are inactive consenting to prosecute successful discretionary spending successful areas specified arsenic travel. 

Travel betterment successful the U.S. is beardown and radical are inactive choosing to walk connected experiences alternatively than worldly goods, Mann said.

And they are being frugal astir their spending connected necessities successful bid to beryllium capable to spend non-essentials, helium added.

"There is thing successful the backmost of people's minds that worries them that adjacent though it's not precise likely, it's inactive imaginable that those [Covid] restrictions [will] travel back," helium said.