In recent years, we have had a devastating global credit crunch, the longest and deepest recession since the 1930s and then the impact of Covid. Yet, despite this financial and economic upheaval, UK house prices have bucked the trend, avoided a major collapse and now exceeded pre-crash levels. The economics of Covid have even made …
Higher wheat prices will have a significant impact on raising food prices and reducing living standards; it is feared it could cause widespread poverty and social unrest. The impact of higher wheat prices will be felt disproportionately by low-income consumers and major wheat importing countries, such as Egypt and Nigeria. This is because consumers on …
Wheat is the fifth most commonly traded commodity after oil, coffee, gas and gold. It accounts for approximately 21% of the world’s food and the gross world trade in wheat is greater than all other crops combined. Wheat is a key ingredient of bread, flour, and pasta, and is also used in the production of …
Readers Question: what are the pros and cons of price control? Summary Price controls can take the form of maximum and minimum prices. Price controls can also be used to limit price increases as a way to try and reduce the rate of inflation. Maximum prices can reduce the price of food to make it …
Periods of high oil prices frequently lead to periods of recession shortly after. There are two main reasons for this. Higher oil prices reduce disposable income leading to lower spending. Higher oil prices push up inflation causing Central Banks to increase interest rates. Oil prices and recession With oil prices rising above $100 because of …
Summary Natural gas is a key raw material for heating and electricity generation, therefore higher prices will significantly increase the cost of living, increase inflation and could slow down economic growth. In the long term, higher gas prices will encourage consumers to find alternatives and firms to increase supply (e.g. fracking for natural gas), but …
The price of natural gas is determined by several supply and demand factors. Source: IMF Commodity prices (look for left column – excel database) The sharp increase in the price of natural gas in 2021/22 reflects concerns over the availability of supply from Russia and the economic recovery which has led to greater demand. Since …
A definition of the law of demand and explanation of why higher price leads to lower demand.