Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Charts of the day are...........

.....Colombian inflation, both monthly since 2007 and 15 years by year.


There are clear signs that the high inflation burden suffered by Colombia this year is easing off. However the country has to get through its traditional price hike period of January and February before we know that for sure.


Taken on a long term basis, Colombia is a country that knows what inflation is by learning the hard way. That usually means they know how to handle it. Frankly, the price drops in the pipeline are going to come as a shock to the nation. Not such a bad time to be a retailer, I'd venture, as sales will likely drop but margins loom set to increase (something countries not used to the phenomenon seldom catch). Might suck to be a coffee exporter, though.