Even outside America, inflation is starting to look entrenched

INFLATION DOMINATES the American popular psyche to an extent not seen since the 1980s, when prices were last rising at the current pace. Much like complaining about the weather or last night’s basketball play-offs, moaning about higher prices has become a conversation starter. According to figures published on May 11th, consumer prices rose by 8.3% in April, compared with the previous year. A day earlier, President Joe Biden called fighting inflation his “top domestic priority”. Newspapers are publishing four times as many stories mentioning inflation as they did a year ago; several polls suggest that Americans believe inflation is a bigger problem for their country than the war in Ukraine. But America is not alone. Inflation is also becoming baked into everyday life in other parts of the rich world.