When it comes to the topic of inflation, central bankers are to pubescent males as the rest of us are to prim young girls who’ve been well-schooled by protective mothers: C’mon, it’ll be great. Everything’ll be fine since I’ve got experience with this. You want it and you know that you want it. What does your mother know? She’s so old-fashioned… But despite the conniving and constant wheedling efforts, July’s PracticalDad Price Index indicates that dear ol’ Mom has pegged the bankers with a cast-iron skillet. Both the Total Index and Food-only Indices (November 2010 = 100) have dropped from June’s figures. The Total Index – covering 47 separate items priced in three unrelated supermarkets – declined from June’s 107.65 to 107.57; however, the 37 item food-only index dropped steeply from June’s 113.55 to July’s 113.13 – almost a half of one percent in one month.
The results of the past four months are:
Month/Year Total Index Food-Only Index Spread
4/13 107.29 113.46 6.17
5/13 107.64 113.68 6.04
6/13 107.65 113.55 5.90
7/13 107.57 113.13 5.56
The upshot is that for these items in the market basket, prices have risen 7.57% for all of the items and 13.13% for the foodstuffs alone. Despite their best efforts, the central bankers are falling behind in their efforts.