Fed och inflation

Många av råvarorna har stigit kraftigt de senaste månaderna och en del skyller på Fed´s policy och deras kvantitativa lättnader (köp av statspapper).

Så här ser utvecklingen ut för ett gäng råvaror de senaste 6 månaderna i alla fall. Vi ska nog vara glada att det inte är oljan som toppar listan i alla fall för ett alltför högt oljepris lär nog döda den amerikanska ekonomin rätt effektivt.

Cotton = +125.7%
Sugar = +82.6%
Silver = +65%
Corn = +59.0%
Coffee = +41.4%
Rice = +40.5%
Oats = +36.6%
Copper = +36.1%
Lumber = +33.8%
Oil = +25.1%
Gold = +16%

Fast Fed skyller på utvecklingsländer som Kina och att de har de verktyg som behövs för att stävja inflationen i deras länder. Underförstått menar man att Kina håller sin valuta alldeles för lågt och man vill pressa på för att få de att höja yuan-kursen.

Från Wall Street Journal:

"Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke rejected complaints by China and other developing economies that U.S. policies are driving up global food and energy prices, and instead pinned the blame on accelerating growth in emerging markets and their inadequate response.

Mr. Bernanke, speaking at the National Press Club in Washington, said it is up to other countries to control their inflation.

"I think it's entirely unfair to attribute excess demand pressures in emerging markets to U.S. monetary policy, because emerging markets have all the tools they need to address excess demand in those countries," he said in answering a question from the audience. "It's really up to emerging markets to find appropriate tools to balance their own growth."

Mr. Bernanke's comments marked the latest salvo in a debate among the world's central bankers about the roots of commodity inflation and the global effect of the Fed's policies. European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet on Thursday played down inflation as an immediate threat to the euro zone.

The Fed's $600 billion policy of buying government bonds to encourage faster U.S. economic growth has drawn criticism from officials in China and other developing economies, who say it is sending floods of cash into their markets, driving up prices for food, energy and commodities, and in many cases pushing their currencies higher.

In December, following such criticism, the Fed chairman cited China
specifically for putting its economy -- and those of other emerging markets -- at risk of higher inflation by keeping the value of its currency too low."