By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – Global supply chains were under increased stress in April because of the Coronavirus Lockdown Measures in China and War in Ukraine. Delivery times also increased and freight costs between America and Asia rose. This was reported by the New York Federal Reserve in the latest update of a worldwide index for supply problems.

This index’s rise partially reversed supply issues seen over the past four months. If it continues, this could lead to more persistent inflation, even though central banks are struggling to keep rising prices under control.

This estimate indicates that moderation observed over the past months may have been partly reversed as China’s lockdown and geopolitical developments put further pressures on shipping times and transport costs in China, and Europe,” said a group of New York Fed economists about April’s release of the Global Supply Chain Pressure Index.

It compares historic norms to include data about shipping costs, delivery time, and other statistics. The coronavirus caused it to spread rapidly and the governments put restrictions on its control. Since then, however, the index has been steadily rising.

In an attempt to monitor what has been a major issue in global recovery following the pandemic and the Fed’s efforts to reduce inflation, the index was published for the first time in January. It will be updated monthly.

To curb business and consumer demand for goods, some institutions and the U.S. Central Bank are raising or planning to raise interest rates.

They also hope supply chains will rebound. The pace and final level of interest rate increases, as well as the extent of global growth and demand that is trimmed, are partly determined by how quickly that happens.

This has put a special focus on China’s COVID policy and how quickly the country can improve its output of industrial goods.