Argentina's Inflation Rate Is Now Over 100%

Argentinians says prices have spiked with each weekly visit to the store [File: Mariana Nedelcu/Reuters]  

Reuters: 'Zero capacity to save': Argentines buckle as inflation tops 104% 

BUENOS AIRES, April 14 (Reuters) - Argentina's annual inflation rate soared to 104.3% in March, the official statistics agency said on Friday, one of the highest rates in the world, straining people's wallets and stoking a cost-of-living crisis that has pushed up poverty. 

The inflation reading for the month came in at 7.7%, well above analyst forecasts of 7.1%, marking the fastest monthly rise since 2002 and piling pressure on the government which is contending with angry voters ahead of elections in October. 

 "I try to think that someday we're going to be better off. But the inflation we're living with today in Argentina is terrible. It feels like never before," said Claudia Hernansaez, a publishing company employee. "In my case, I have zero capacity to save." 

The soaring prices have hammered salaries and spending power, pushed up poverty to near 40%, and dented the popularity of the governing Peronist coalition as general elections near.  

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Update: Argentinians buckle under 104.3 percent inflation (Al Jazeera).  

WNU Editor: Argentina is not the only country facing sky-high inflation rates .... Nigeria suffers 17-year high inflation despite monetary policies (Punch). The upcoming Turkish election will also being impacted by inflation .... Will Turkey’s inflation crisis damage Erdogan’s re-election chances? (France 24).

The Global Inflation Outlook

Statista: The Global Inflation Outlook 

The International Monetary Fund has said that it expects inflation pressures to be significant around the world in 2022. Inflation is predicted to be worse in developing economies, where price increases are projected to reach 9.9 percent on average over the course of this year. In developed nations, this number was put at 7.2 percent by the IMF.  

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WNU Editor: There is a lot of manipulation in these statistics. Shadowstats sees (link here) US inflation at around 16%, not between 5% - 9.9%.

And as for the future, the outlook is grim .... "There Is Too Much Debt In The World, So They Must Inflate It Away, Which They Will. That's The Only Thing You Need To Know" (Zero Hedge).

Inflation Is Now A Global Concern

Barrons: Prices Soaring Everywhere: From Beans In Brazil To Pork In China 

Consumers and businesses around the world are facing steeper prices for everything from Mexico's beloved tortillas to the aluminium cans used by beer companies.

Inflation jumped after countries emerged from Covid lockdowns and it has soared since Russia invaded Ukraine, with the IMF expecting consumer prices to rise by 8.3 percent globally this year. 

Here is a look at how higher prices are affecting the world: The invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the world's third largest oil producer, sent crude oil prices through the roof. 

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WNU Editor: What is your country's inflation rate? The Financial Times has a good tool to find out .... Global inflation tracker (Financial Times).

Raw Materials Are Now Fetching Premium Prices

Zero Hedge: Raw Materials Fetch Premium Prices 

While longer-term structural factors are at play, the effects of the war in Ukraine are felt in many ways – the one that is probably most pervasive in the daily lives of people around the world is rising prices. As Statista's Katharina Buchholz notes, Russia and Ukraine have a significant influence on the world economy due to their role as suppliers of a number of essential raw materials. These include fossil fuels, agricultural commodities as well as several metals.  

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WNU Editor: Russia exports many of these commodities. It explains why inflation has become a problem, and why the ruble is now at record highs .... Rouble hits fresh highs against dollar, euro (Reuters).

How Inflation Makes The U.S. Military Poorer

Mackenzie Eaglen, 19FortyFive: How Inflation Makes the US Military Poorer Overnight 

Right now, it’s hard to find any good, commodity or service that is getting cheaper. Those same inflationary trends hold true for the Department of Defense’s finances. Congress keeping the military on a spending freeze for nearly half a year is only exacerbating budget challenges. 

The result is an agency surging troops forward as Russia builds up forces near Ukraine that is losing buying power near equivalent to sequestration levels of 2013. Absent a fast fix, the military will continue to financially triage as planned costs for everything from fuel to timber to rental assistance far outpace actual bills.  

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WNU Editor: With inflation expected to continue for the next few years, this is only going to get worse.

Inflation Hit A Record High In The Euro Zone

 

CNBC: Euro zone inflation hit a new record high of 5% in December 

* Preliminary data showed Friday that headline inflation came in at 5% for the month, compared to the same month last year. 

* The figure represents the highest ever on record. 

* Money managers have been debating whether the ECB should be taking a more aggressive stance to combat rising prices. 

Euro zone inflation hit a new record high in December, raising more questions about the European Central Bank’s monetary policy. 

Preliminary data showed Friday that the headline inflation rate came in at 5% for the month, compared to the same month last year. 

The figure represents the highest ever on record and follows November’s all-time high of 4.9%. The increase was mostly due to higher energy prices. 

“After reaching 5.0% in December, headline euro-zone inflation should fall this year as the energy component plummets,” Capital Economics said in a note Friday.  

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WNU Editor: All of my friends in Europe are telling me that the real inflation rate is higher.

 Inflation Hit A Record High In The Euro Zone  

Eurozone inflation hits new peak at 5 percent -- Politico  

Euro zone inflation hits 5%, marking another record high -- Reuters

 Inflation soars to record 5 percent in 19 countries using euro -- The Hill  

Germany: Annual inflation hits highest rate since 1993 -- DW

UN Says Global Food Prices Have Hit A Fresh 10-Year High

BBC: Inflation: Global food prices hit fresh 10-year high, UN says 

Global food prices have hit the highest level in over a decade after rising by more than 30% in the last year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) says. 

The agency's figures highlighted the soaring cost of cereals and vegetable oils around the world. 

Vegetable oil prices hit a record high after rising by almost 10% in October. 

Disruptions to supplies, high commodity prices, factory closures and political tensions are helping to push up prices. 

The FAO said its measure of cereal prices was up by more than 22% compared to a year earlier.  

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WNU Editor: The last time prices reached these leves we had global unrest and the Arab Spring.  

Update: The prediction is that prices will continue to increase into 2022 .... Global fertilizer crisis may push food prices higher (Farm Progress). 

More News On The UN Saying Global Food Prices Have Hit A Fresh 10-Year High 

 Global Food Prices Hit Fresh Decade High In October -- Zero Hedge  

Global Food Prices Surge as Inflation Spreads -- WSJ  

Global shoppers feel the pinch of rising food prices -- Financial Times  

Inflation watch: Global food prices hit 10-year high -- Al Jazeera

Global Food Inflation Deepens As Feed Prices Explode

Bloomberg: The World Will Pay More for Meat as Food Inflation Deepens 

(Bloomberg) -- There are signs that the food inflation that’s gripped the world over the past year, raising prices of everything from shredded cheese to peanut butter, is about to get worse. 

The Covid-19 pandemic upended food supply chains, paralyzing shipping, sickening workers that keep the world fed and ultimately raising consumer grocery costs around the globe last year. Now farmers -- especially ones raising cattle, hogs and poultry -- are getting squeezed by the highest corn and soybean prices in seven years. It’s lifted the costs of feeding their herds by 30% or more. To stay profitable, producers including Tyson Foods Inc. are increasing prices, which will ripple through supply chains and show up in the coming months as higher price tags for beef, pork and chicken around the world. 

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WNU Editor: I have seen this play out more than once in my life. In every case inflation made life difficult for most people. But this cycle is going to be worse. The pandemic and current fiscal and monetary policies to address this health crisis have put into motion an inflation explosion that most people have not seen in their lifetime.

Only Money-Printing Can Pay The Pandemic Bills That Governments Are Piling Up On

Bloomberg

Bloomberg: Pandemic Bills Are So Big That Only Money-Printing Can Pay Them

Forced into record spending by the threat of another Great Depression, policy makers are blurring the lines between borrowing the money they need and simply creating it.Most modern economies have tried to keep the two activities as separate as possible. The typical setup has been for elected politicians to take charge of budgets, and meet any shortfall by borrowing on bond markets –- while the money-printing machinery was walled off in another branch of government, the central bank.But those barriers began to look porous after the financial crisis of 2008. And in the coronavirus slump, they’ve all but disappeared.

With entire industries shuttered and unemployment soaring, only public spending is keeping millions of households and businesses afloat. The governments on the hook for this relief effort are running up some of history’s biggest budget deficits. And they’re paying at least some of the bills with what are effectively loans from their own central banks –- debt that can be rolled over indefinitely, and is really more like money.

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WNU Editor:I have seen this play book play out so many times in so many countries over the years. We will have inflation, and its impact will be different for different countries.