* My column in BusinessWorld last January 5.
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As of today, only a few countries in the top 50 largest economies in the world have reported their December 2022 inflation data. In Table 1, I list five countries each in Europe and Asia. Europe has been severely affected mainly because of high energy prices. Germany, the largest economy in Europe and fourth largest in the world, experienced its highest inflation in 70 years. Switzerland, which has the lowest inflation in Europe, still experienced 29-years high price increases.
It seems that the series of interest rate hikes by central banks and the monetary authorities of many governments have succeeded in causing demand destruction, where consumers were forced to cut down their spending on many items, which pulled down overall inflation rates in the latter months of 2022.
In the Philippines, price hikes in transportation — oil, fares, vehicle rentals, etc. — were the main contributor to overall high inflation in 2022. It was the reverse in 2019 where transport was a major contributor — only 1% — to low inflation that year (See Table 2).
The important policy implication here is that taxes and costs that contribute to high oil and transport prices must decline, or at least remain stable and not increased further. High oil taxes and costs mean high operating cost for tractors, harvesters, trucks, and irrigation pumps. Which in turn leads to high food prices.
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See also:
BWorld 574, Top 10 energy stories/ideas 2022, December 28, 2022
BWorld 575, The Top 10 fiscal and monetary news stories of 2022, December 31, 2022
BWorld 576, Top 10 trade and investment stories of 2022, January 6, 2023.
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