It’s time to fight back against inflation

POLITICIANS don’t like it. Central bankers have been in denial over it and consumers are now fretting about it. In the blink of an eye, inflation has gone from the elephant in the room to the out-of-control beast that is rampaging through global economies.

It is a clear and present danger that can affect our wealth for years to come. We can’t just dismiss inflation as a passing phenomenon. In the US and the Eurozone, it is running at 8.6 per cent, whilst in the UK is an eye-watering 9.1 per cent.

Asia has not been spared. India’s inflation rate is 7 per cent; in Thailand it is 7.1 per cent, and Singapore is experiencing a decade-high inflation rate of 5.6 per cent. Even those countries that have so far been able to avoid rising prices could find that inflation will gradually seep into their shopping baskets. Just look at China. Its inflation rate has climbed to a 23-month high.