Usman Salis
⬤ From early 2021 onward, inflation has followed sharply different tracks across the largest economies. The UK recorded the steepest rise - prices grew 28.2 percent in total. The US followed with 23.8 percent. The Euro Area reached 23.1 percent besides Germany 21.2 percent, evidence that Western price levels have climbed without pause for multiple years.
⬤ France posted a 15.1 percent total increase - Japan saw 12.4 percent. Households in the main economies now need 21 - 28 percent more money than in January 2021 to buy the same goods. Each additional price rise has built on the last, steadily shrinking what a family budget covers.
Consumers in major economies have effectively lost 21 % to 28 % of their purchasing power since January 2021.
⬤ China's consumer prices rose only 2.8 percent in total - an almost flat line beside Western figures. Slack demand at home and persistent trouble in the property sector hold prices down - China faces conditions quite unlike the inflation pressures seen elsewhere.
⬤ The split shows how uneven the global recovery has been since 2021. Many large economies still battle fast price gains that gnaw at household budgets, while China confronts weak consumer spending and a strained housing market.
Usman Salis
