Global inflation pick up is transitory - Citi's King

LONDON (Reuters) - A pick up in inflation in major economies is temporary with rises in wages remaining the missing ingredient, Citi's global markets strategist Matt King said on Thursday.

Inflation in the euro area is at 1.9%, right on the European Central Bank's target of "below but close to 2%". U.S. consumer prices accelerated 5% in the year to May, notching up their biggest year-on-year increase in 13 years.

Such data has fuelled a debate among policymakers and in markets over whether a pick up in inflation is transitory or a sign of sustained move higher after years of laying dormant.

"I am in the transitory camp, I'm not convinced that what we are seeing is no more than bottle necks," King told a Citi media summit. "What you need is a sustained wage price cycle and I'm not convinced there's a change here."

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; editing by Thyagaraju Adinarayan)

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