Inflation

Britain’s Minister for Safeguarding, Rachel Maclean, told Sky News on Monday that those struggling with the cost-of-living crisis should work more hours or move to a better-paid job. The Labour Party accused her of being “disconnected from the realities of people's lives.”

Maclean promised that the government would provide “more help” to people struggling with food and energy bills, but that in the meantime, people should help themselves.

“We have often heard in the past when people are facing problems with their budgets that one of the obstacles - and it may not be for everybody - is about being able to take on more hours or even move to a better-paid job,” she suggested.

“That's why the job centers exist, that's why the work coaches exist, that's why we've put the support into those job centers,” she continued, before admitting “of course it's not going to work for people who are already working in three jobs.”

www.rt.com/news/555558-uk-cost-living-minister

The European flying public should expect higher prices this summer when it comes to booking flights, Ryanair CEO Michael O’Leary has warned.

The cost of flying this summer will reach a “single-digit percent” high above pre-pandemic levels, the low-cost airline chief told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Monday.

He cited “demand for the beaches of Europe” during the summer vacation months as behind the anticipated price hike. He also pointed to the conflict in Ukraine and its impact on the price of fuel. Bookings are around 10% behind pre-pandemic levels, he told CNBC’s Europe Squawk Box on Monday.

O’Leary said an expected economic downturn, an inflexible post-Brexit labor market in the UK and “continuing uncertainty” about the energy supply would lead to “inevitable fuel surcharges” in all competing airlines, whereas a very strong hedging position on jet fuel, 80%, allowed the airline to continue to offer lower prices to its customers.

www.rt.com/business/555585-ryanair-ceo-soaring-prices

Wheat prices surged to a new record high on Monday after India decided to prohibit exports of the commodity as a heatwave hit production. The price climbed to €435 ($453) per ton as the European market opened.

Soft red winter wheat for July delivery rose 4.2%.

New Delhi said this weekend it was curbing exports as the country, the world’s second-largest wheat producer, saw its hottest March on record. The authorities have expressed worries about the food security of the nation’s own 1.4 billion people amid lower production and sharply higher global prices.

Export deals agreed before the directive issued on May 13 could still be honored but future shipments will need government approval, New Delhi said.

www.rt.com/business/555578-global-wheat-prices-record-high

Inflation in Austria has jumped to its highest level in over 40 years, media reported on Wednesday, citing data from the country’s federal statistics agency Statistics Austria.

“In April 2022, consumer prices again increased significantly compared to last year – by 7.2%. We saw such a high rate of price growth in Austria for the last time in October 1981. Then the price of oil jumped sharply due to the Iran-Iraq war. Now, along with fuel and energy prices, food prices are the decisive factor,” the agency’s CEO Tobias Thomas said in a statement.

According to the agency’s calculations, transport costs increased by an average of 17.7% after having already jumped by 15.9% in March. The growth is attributed to higher fuel prices, which spiked 49.1% in April. This also hit airfares, which rose by 45% last month. Household energy costs also skyrocketed, increasing by almost 29%, while food prices surged by 8.4%.

This week’s data shows that the cost of an average weekly shopping basket rose 14% in April compared to last year.

www.rt.com/business/555696-inflation-austria-decades-high

Inflation has hit a multi-decade high in all parts of the world. From Sri Lanka to Argentina, people have hit the streets to protest the rising cost of living. Could governments have prepared better for the rising inflation?