Where is Inflation Highest and Lowest Right Now?
While inflation has been rising globally, there are several disparities also. Where is inflation highest and lowest right now?
May 12 2022, Published 7:35 a.m. ET
Rising inflation has been troubling consumers not only in the U.S. but also globally. The CPI data showed that U.S. inflation rose to an annualized rate of 8.3 percent in April. While inflation fell from the March high of 8.5 percent, and it is the first time since August that CPI has fallen, it was nonetheless higher than the 8.1 percent analysts were expecting.
There is regional disparity in inflation in the U.S. and some regions have reported price rises higher or lower than the national average. Similarly, some countries have much higher inflation than the U.S. while many others have lower inflation. Where is inflation highest and lowest right now?
Where is inflation highest in the U.S.?
Data released by the Labor Department showed that inflation is highest in the South. The region’s average inflation was 8.8 percent in April, which is highest than the national average. Within the region, the West South Central area had the highest inflation at 9.3 percent.
Among the metropolitan areas, Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell in Georgia had the highest inflation rate of 10.8 percent.
Where is inflation the lowest in the U.S.?
In April 2022, inflation was the lowest in the Northeast. The region’s average inflation grew at an annualized pace of 7.2 percent in April, which was significantly below the national average. Within the region, Class A cities, which have a population above 2.5 million, reported an inflation rate of 6.8 percent in the month. The New England region witnessed an annualized inflation of 7 percent in the month.
Select data released from the Labor Department showed that San Francisco had an annualized inflation of only 5 percent in April which is the lowest among the cities for which the select data was released.
Venezuela is the country with the highest inflation globally.
According to World Population Review, Venezuela has the highest inflation rate globally. Sudan, Lebanon, and Syria also have inflation in triple digits. Among major economies, Turkey has the highest inflation. The country has been battling high inflation and a sliding currency for quite some time now.
While economists believe interest rates need to rise to tame inflation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan believes lower interest rates lead to lower inflation. The Turkish economy has been paying the price for Erdogan’s "unorthodox" economic policies.
Rwanda has the lowest inflation.
Data from World Population Review shows that Rwanda has the lowest inflation of -2 percent. Chad and Maldives also have deflation which might sound strange considering the steep rise in prices of almost all the goods and services.
Among major economies, Japan has the lowest inflation. In April, the country’s annualized inflation rose by 0.8 percent. Japan has been battling deflation for quite some time and policymakers have been working to increase the inflation. The steep fall in yen and a rise in prices of goods and services pushed Japan’s inflation to the highest rate since January 2020.
How much inflation is there in China?
While inflation in China edged up to 2.1 percent in April, which was the highest since November, the country’s inflation is still among the least globally. The Communist government in China places a lot of focus on price stability.
Here it is worth noting that how inflation is calculated differs between countries as all countries have a different basket of goods and services as well as the methodology to calculate inflation. That said, consumers across the world have been facing the pain of rising prices which have now started to hit monthly budgets for several low- and middle-income households.