Inflation, is it .................everywhere?
Ok, subject line is a bit misleading, but I'll get to it. So I'm back in Bangkok, yes again, so first thing I do is seek out my favorite little eatery in Sukhumvit for a tasty dish of Thai panang curry chicken. Now comes the inflation part. I've been frequenting this little place for years and for as long as I have, it's been 60 Baht for this dish, an absolute steal at approximately $2.50 CAD. So I roll in and quickly peruse the menu, already knowing what I'm getting and low and behold to my surprise my beloved panang had sky rocketed to $100 Baht...................a whopping $4.20 CAD. Now it's not the 4.20 in itself that necessarily caught my attention, because, hey, it's 4 dollars 20 cents, it was the size (percentage) of increase that stood out, in particular in a country where they seemingly keep a pretty good lid on price inflation. Ahhh what's a guy to do. Case in point, if in a country like this I see recent price pressure where it is not as easily passed on as back in North America, then yes, inflation still has some relevance, even if for the most part it is a bit subdued.
Last data set (for those looking) on ISM manufacturing (U.S.) and non manufacturing Services both flashed a little reminder that inflation there is not yet dead, although Canada hmmmm not so much.
All this talk of inflation and price increases and 100 Baht panang in this bastion of madness they call Bangkok has me slinking off to another one of my favorite little haunts, that one place, that little island of safety, where they are as price steady as Cosco (U.S) hot dogs (bleh) and get me that creamy little delicacy in the Ikea in Emsphere............a perfect little ice cream dispensed out of a machine...........and still holding steady at only 8 Baht................you do the math (.33 cents)............alas, the days not a total bust.
Stay good,
DZ