Electricity, butter, refueling: Everything is becoming more expensive and there is no end in sight to inflation. What is the European Central Bank doing, what is politics doing?
Filling up the car, heating the apartment, buying groceries in the supermarket: prices are rising everywhere. Where does the high inflation come from and how long will it continue like this?
Markus Zydra reports from the financial metropolis Frankfurt for the SZ. He says that the current inflation is mainly due to the lockdown measures in the corona pandemic. During this time, many products became scarce. In the meantime, however, people wanted to buy more again – which then led to the extreme price increases. In addition, there is an artificial shortage of gas during the Ukraine crisis. Currently, essential things such as gas, food and electricity are particularly affected. “Inflation has become a social issue,” says Zydra. Poor people in particular suffer from the high prices.
Zydra says: “The ECB underestimated this inflation dynamic.” That’s why she stayed true to her zero interest rate policy – a mistake given the currently high inflation. According to Zydra, however, it looks as if the key interest rate could be increased this year.
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