The official measure of inflation [in the UK] showed that prices rose 3.7pc in the year to December, up from the previous month's 3.3pc rate as the soaring cost of oil drove the biggest monthly increase on record.
The figures from the Office for National Statistics mean that inflation, as tracked on the consumer price index (CPI), stayed at least one percentage point away from the Bank’s 2pc target for the whole of last year.
This all is happening even as housing prices in the UK are slumping—December house prices in the United Kingdom fell 1.3% over the previous December.
Meanwhile, in the U.S., the ridiculously named “core inflation rate”—that is, inflation without food or energy prices—was all of 0.8% in 2010, while the CPI (Consumer Price Index) rose 1.5% in 2010, down from 2.7% in 2009.
Is the UK an aberration? Or a sign of things to come in the U.S.?
You decide! (We here at The Hourly G Command Central already know . . . and are planning accordingly.)
An observation and a question:
ReplyDeleteThe UK seems most famous in 2010 for implementing austerity measures and their inflation is rising quickly. The US is stimulating and QE'ing and our CPI is at a relatively deflationary rate of 1.5 - I know it's not deflationary, per se, but it dropped from 2009 by 55% and is well below anything we'd call remotely inflationary.
So how are you preparing accordingly at THGCC?
CPI is bogus!
ReplyDeleteHi Gonzalo
ReplyDeleteLove your posts, especially because you devote so much focus to Europe (I'm a Brit living in Germany).
One suggestion though: I can't read THG posts directly in my RSS reader or my iPhone, it requires clicking through to a webpage which doesn't make for easy reading.
Your Gonzalo Lira posts do appear but are truncated so only the first 400 characters or so appear, so again this requires a click through.
I subscribe to other Blogspot blogs that do display in full so I suspect it is just a setting that needs to be adjusted in your blog setup.
It would be great if you could do this as I really appreciate your outlook on the current shenanigans. Do let me know if you need any help with this as I am familiar with blogs.
Many thanks, Mark
Mark,
ReplyDeleteon the iphone try http://www.google.com/gwt/x?u=www.thehourlyg.blogspot.com
Sometimes the first headline of the page is clipped but overall it's the best experience on a mobile browser.
THG, I agree with DOUG, so how about sharing your insights and plans for the hyperinflation after party and letting us join the fun ??
ReplyDeleteHey Doug
ReplyDeleteThanks for the tip but it doesn't really get round leaving the simplicity of just using an RSS Reader. Over to you Gonzalo...