Global Inflation & Cost of Living: Full Timeline

Worldwide economic inflation refers to the sustained rise in prices of goods and services across global economies, eroding purchasing power and raising the cos…

OPEC Oil Embargo Triggers the First Modern Global Inflation Crisis

In October 1973, Arab members of OPEC imposed an oil embargo on nations supporting Israel during the Yom Kippur War, causing crude oil prices to quadruple from roughly $…

US Fed Chair Paul Volcker Raises Interest Rates to Break Inflation — and Reshap…

By 1979, US inflation had climbed above 13%, driven by a second oil crisis following the Iranian Revolution. Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker made the radical decis…

India's Balance-of-Payments Crisis and Economic Liberalisation Reshape Domestic…

By mid-1991, India's foreign exchange reserves had fallen to just two weeks' worth of import cover — approximately $1.2 billion — forcing the government of Prime Ministe…

The 1997 Asian Financial Crisis Exports Deflation and Debt Stress Across Emergi…

Beginning with Thailand's decision to float the baht in July 1997 after defending an unsustainable currency peg, the crisis spread with devastating speed to Indonesia, S…

The 2008 Global Financial Crisis Crashes Commodity Prices Then Unleashes a Deca…

The collapse of Lehman Brothers in September 2008 triggered the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, instantly deflating the commodity super-cycle that had…

COVID-19 Pandemic Shatters Global Supply Chains, Setting the Stage for Historic…

When governments worldwide locked down economies in March 2020, global supply chains — the complex networks of factories, ports, and shipping routes that deliver everyth…

Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Sends Food and Energy Prices to Multi-Decade Highs…

Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 struck the global economy at its most vulnerable point: supply chains were already strained, and inflation w…

The US Federal Reserve and RBI Launch Aggressive Interest Rate Hike Cycles to C…

With US CPI hitting 9.1% in June 2022 — its highest since November 1981 — the Federal Reserve began its most aggressive rate-hike cycle in four decades, raising the fede…

The UK Cost-of-Living Crisis Peaks as Inflation Hits a 41-Year High, Forcing Go…

In October 2022, UK CPI inflation reached 11.1% — its highest level since 1981 — driven by a 65% rise in household energy bills, 16% food inflation, and chronic labour s…

India's Food Inflation Surges Above 10% as Tomato Prices Triple and Erratic Mon…

In July 2023, retail tomato prices across Indian cities surged to ₹200–250 per kilogram — more than triple their normal levels — as unseasonal rains damaged crops in key…

Global Inflation Retreats from Peaks but Remains Above Pre-Pandemic Levels, Kee…

By mid-2024, headline inflation in the US had fallen to approximately 3%, and the European Central Bank cut interest rates for the first time since 2019. The IMF project…