Japan has the lowest inflation rate of the major developed and emerging economies in November 2021, at 0.6 percent (compared to the same month of the previous year).
Is it beneficial to have a low inflation rate?
The population’s well-being is improved by a low and stable inflation rate. This manifests itself in a variety of ways: A low rate of inflation encourages the most effective use of economic resources.
What country has printed an excessive amount of money?
Zimbabwe banknotes ranging from $10 to $100 billion were created over the course of a year. The size of the currency scalars indicates how severe the hyperinflation is.
What is the inflation rate in China?
Inflation in China was 2.42 percent in 2020, down 0.48 percent from 2019. In 2019, China’s inflation rate was 2.90 percent, up 0.82 percent from 2018. The annual inflation rate in China was 2.07% in 2018, up 0.48 percent from 2017. In 2017, China’s inflation rate was 1.59 percent, down 0.41 percent from 2016.
Which countries have the highest rates of inflation?
Venezuela has the world’s highest inflation rate, with a rate that has risen past one million percent in recent years. Prices in Venezuela have fluctuated so quickly at times that retailers have ceased posting price tags on items and instead urged consumers to just ask employees how much each item cost that day. Hyperinflation is an economic crisis caused by a government overspending (typically as a result of war, a regime change, or socioeconomic circumstances that reduce funding from tax collection) and issuing massive quantities of additional money to meet its expenses.
Venezuela’s economy used to be the envy of South America, with high per-capita income thanks to the world’s greatest oil reserves. However, the country’s substantial reliance on petroleum revenues made it particularly vulnerable to oil price swings in the 1980s and 1990s. Oil prices fell from $100 per barrel in 2014 to less than $30 per barrel in early 2016, sending the country’s economy into a tailspin from which it has yet to fully recover.
Sudan had the second-highest inflation rate in the world at the start of 2022, at 340.0 percent. Sudanese inflation has soared in recent years, fueled by food, beverages, and an underground market for US money. Inflationary pressures became so severe that protests erupted, leading to President Omar al-ouster Bashir’s in April 2019. Sudan’s transitional authorities are now in charge of reviving an economy that has been ravaged by years of mismanagement.
What is the inflation rate in the United Kingdom?
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) increased by 5.5 percent from 5.4 percent in December 2021 to 5.5 percent in January 2022. This is the highest 12-month CPI inflation rate since the National Statistics series began in January 1997, and it was last higher in the historical modelled series in March 1992, when it was 7.1 percent.
CPIH was stable on a monthly basis in January 2022, compared to a 0.1 percent drop in the same month the previous year. The strongest downward contributions to the monthly rate in January 2022 came from price drops in apparel and footwear, as well as transportation. Housing and household services, food and non-alcoholic beverages, and alcohol and tobacco were the biggest contributors to the monthly rate going increased. Section 4 contains more information about people’s contributions to change.
The CPI declined 0.1 percent from the previous month in January 2022, compared to a 0.2 percent drop in the same month the previous year.
The owner occupiers’ housing costs (OOH) component, which accounts for roughly 17% of the CPIH, is the principal cause of disparities in CPIH and CPI inflation rates.
On an annual average basis, the CPI rises at the fastest pace since 1991
Following a 0.7 percent increase in 2020, the CPI increased by 3.4 percent on an annual average basis in 2021. This was the fastest growth rate since 1991 (+5.6%).
The annual average CPI climbed 2.4 percent in 2021, slightly faster than in 2020 (+1.3 percent) and slightly faster than in 2019 (+2.3 percent).
Seven of eight major CPI components up in 2021
Transportation prices (+7.2 percent) increased at the quickest rate among the eight major components. Clothing and footwear costs fell 0.3 percent in 2021, making it the only significant component to dip in the previous year.
Higher prices in all provinces and territorial capital cities
Prince Edward Island had the highest annual average price increase (+5.1%), followed by Nova Scotia (+4.1%). Saskatchewan (+2.6 percent) had the slowest price growth among the provinces.
Annual average prices rose the highest in Whitehorse (+3.3%), followed by Yellowknife (+2.2%), and the slowest in Iqaluit (+1.4%) among the territorial capital cities.
Why don’t we desire zero inflation?
Inflation has a variety of economic costs – uncertainty, decreased investment, and redistribution of wealth from savers to borrowers but, despite these costs, is zero inflation desirable?
Inflation is frequently targeted at roughly 2% by governments. (The UK CPI objective is 2% +/-.) There are good reasons to aim for 2% inflation rather than 0% inflation. The idea is that achieving 0% inflation will need slower economic development and result in deflationary problems (falling prices)
Potential problems of deflation/low inflation
- Debt’s true value is increasing. With low inflation, people find it more difficult to repay their debts than they anticipated they must spend a bigger percentage of their income on debt repayments, leaving less money for other purposes.
- Real interest rates are rising. Whether we like it or not, falling inflation raises real interest rates. Rising real interest rates make borrowing and investing less appealing, encouraging people to save. If the economy is in a slump, a rise in real interest rates could make monetary policy less effective at promoting growth.
- Purchase at a later date. Falling prices may motivate customers to put off purchasing pricey luxury products for a year, believing that prices would be lower.
- Inflationary pressures are a sign of slowing economy. Inflation would normally be moderate during a normal period of economic expansion (2 percent ). If inflation has dropped to 0%, it indicates that there is strong price pressure to promote spending and that the recovery is weak.
- Prices and wages are more difficult to modify. When inflation reaches 2 percent, relative prices and salaries are easier to adapt because firms can freeze pay and prices – effectively a 2 percent drop in real terms. However, if inflation is zero, a company would have to decrease nominal pay by 2% – this is far more difficult psychologically because people oppose wage cuts more than they accept a nominal freeze. If businesses are unable to adjust wages, real wage unemployment may result.
Evaluation
There are several reasons for the absence of inflation. The drop in UK inflation in 2015 was attributed to temporary short-term factors such as lower oil and gasoline prices. These transient circumstances are unlikely to persist and have been reversed. The focus should be on underlying inflationary pressures core inflation, which includes volatile food and oil costs. Other inflation gauges, such as the RPI, were 1 percent (even though RPI is not the same as core inflation.) In that situation, inflation fell during a period of modest economic recovery. Although inflation has decreased, the economy has not entered a state of recession. In fact, the exact reverse is true.
Inflation was near to zero in several southern Eurozone economies from 2012 to 2015, although this was due to decreased demand, austerity, and attempts to re-establish competitiveness, which resulted in lower rates of economic growth and more unemployment.
It all depends on what kind of deflation you’re talking about. Real incomes could be boosted by falling prices. One of the most common concerns about deflation is that it reduces consumer spending. However, as the price of basic needs such as gasoline and food falls, consumers’ discretionary income/spending power rises, potentially leading to increased expenditure in the near term.
Wages that are realistic. Falling real earnings have been a trend of recent years, with inflation outpacing nominal wage growth. Because nominal wage growth is still low, the decrease in inflation will make people feel better about themselves and may promote spending. It is critical for economic growth to stop the decline in real wages.
Expectations for the future. Some economists believe that the decline in UK inflation is mostly due to temporary factors, while others are concerned that the ultra-low inflation may feed into persistently low inflation expectations, resulting in zero wage growth and sustained deflationary forces. This is the main source of anxiety about a 0% inflation rate.
Do we have a plan to combat deflation? There is a belief that we will be able to overcome any deflation or disinflation. However, Japan’s history demonstrates that once deflation has set in, it can be quite difficult to reverse. Reducing inflation above target is very simple; combating deflation, on the other hand, is more of a mystery.
Finances of the government In the short term, the decrease in inflation is beneficial to the government. Index-linked benefits will rise at a slower rate than predicted, reducing the UK government’s benefit bill. This might save the government a significant amount of money, reducing the deficit and freeing up funds for pre-election tax cuts.
Low inflation, on the other hand, may result in decreased government tax collections. For example, the VAT (percentage) on items will not rise as much as anticipated. Low wage growth will also reduce tax revenue.
Consumers are frequently pleased when there is little inflation. They will benefit from lower pricing and the feeling of having more money to spend. This ‘feel good’ component may stimulate increased confidence, which could lead to increased investment, spending, and growth. Low inflation could be enabling in disguise in the current context.
However, there is a real risk that if we get stuck in a time of ultra-low inflation/deflation, all of the difficulties associated with deflation would become more visible and begin to stifle regular economic growth.
Is there inflation in Switzerland?
The fact that the cost of living in Switzerland is already so high contributes to the low inflation rate.
“When compared to our European neighbors, one of the characteristics of Switzerland is that we tend to have high costs in nearly everything,” said Nannette Hechler-Fayd’herbe, global head of economics and research at Credit Suisse.
A cottage industry of ‘delivery address’ enterprises has developed up an hour’s drive from Zurich, just across the border into Germany, charging Swiss clients a nominal charge to hold products they order at cheap German rates and later collect.
“People come here because they can get good deals,” said German entrepreneur Mandy Klein, who started her delivery address business from home in 2009 and now has two locations in the gorgeous lakeside German border town of Constance.
The brisk delivery commerce in Constance demonstrates Swiss households’ desire to cut costs wherever they can. Despite this, Eurostat data reveal that the price level for household consumption expenditure in Switzerland was still 60% higher in 2020 than the euro area average.
As a result, consumer groups, fed up with Switzerland’s reputation as a “high-price island,” agitated for political action, resulting in two legislative reforms that took effect at the start of this year to provide consumers a better deal.
The first strengthened Switzerland’s cartel law, making it more difficult for companies to mark up their pricing for the Swiss market.
The second legislation outlawed so-called geo-blocking, which is a technique employed by shops to prevent internet buyers from purchasing cheaper goods or services from foreign websites by redirecting them to Swiss websites, for example.
Prisca Birrer-Heimo, a Social Democrat lawmaker who co-led a ‘fair price initiative’ demanding reform, has already seen results.
Swiss market characteristics, as well as the weighting of certain essential goods in the consumer price index (CPI), contribute to Switzerland’s low inflation.
According to OECD data, healthcare, which is delivered by private enterprises, accounts for 17 percent of the CPI index, compared to 7% in the United States and 5% in Germany. The government has pushed health insurers to lower premiums.
“This has been an area that, rather than causing inflation and price hikes, has experienced the opposite as a result of political pressure,” said Credit Suisse’s Hechler-Fayd’herbe.
Hydropower accounts for about 57 percent of Switzerland’s energy production, thanks to the country’s lakes, rivers, and mountainous terrain, according to the federal energy office, making the Swiss significantly less vulnerable to rising oil and gas prices than other countries.
According to OECD data, energy accounts for only 5% of the Swiss CPI basket, compared to 7% in the US and 10% in Germany, where consumers are significantly more susceptible to growing fossil fuel prices.
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“Our best forecast is that (average) inflation in Switzerland will be 1.8 percent in 2022,” said Credit Suisse’s Hechler-Fayd’herbe, “but the current spike in oil prices raises the probability of a somewhat higher rate.” “We expect inflation to average 1.0 percent in 2023.”
There is less demand for pay increases because earnings are already higher than in practically every other European country. Swisscom (SCMN.S), a telecommunications company, is only boosting compensation by 0.9 percent this year.
The strong franc is also beneficial. The franc, which is seen as a safe haven, temporarily climbed over parity with the euro this month, hitting a seven-year high.
The currency’s purchasing power protects Switzerland from increased import costs and feeds into the country’s stable price environment, giving exporters an advantage over overseas competitors experiencing higher inflation.
Half of the electrical and mechanical engineering industry’s exports, according to Jean-Philippe Kohl, vice director and head of economic policy at Swissmem, travel to the euro zone, where inflation is hovering around 6%.
“A Swiss firm that manufactures a product here and sells it in the euro zone will be able to offer it at a greater price sooner or later… therefore you profit from it,” he said.