INFLATION

The euro zone faces short-term price pressures which could linger, the European Central Bank said on Thursday, showing it is ready to raise interest rates if needed although it expects inflation should be contained.

The risk of deflation, a damaging downward spiral of falling prices and lower wages, has declined in recent months, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Thursday.

China dumped plans to import several million tonnes of expensive corn and South Korea unveiled cuts in import tariffs on some products, underscoring the dilemma over how to tackle rising food prices.

Ethiopia has penalised retailers and suppliers in the capital who raised the prices of consumer goods such as bread by amounts higher than caps set in January, authorities said on Thursday.

2011 is shaping up as a race to the bottom for currency values, writes Harvard professor Kenneth Rogoff in today's Financial Times. No wonder gold has been so attractive.

The Producer Price Index (PPI) for finished goods rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in December, marking a sixth week of rise, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday.

China will grow slower in 2011 due to the unwinding of fiscal stimulus and the restrictions placed on overheating sectors, the World Bank said in a report.

South Korea raised interest rates on Thursday, surprising markets, and unveiled a set of measures to contain mounting inflation as policymakers around the world battle surging prices of food and other commodities.

Industrial production continues to remain below expectations in the U.K., hurt by weakness in the oil and gas extraction sector.

The government may ban wheat product exports in a series of measures to tame spiralling food prices that have fuelled rapid inflation and increased pressure on an embattled ruling Congress party, local media said.

Ghana's inflation slowed to a new 18-year low of 8.58 percent in December, feeding expectations the West African economic heavyweight will keep its policy interest rate on hold in the short term.

Investors are likely to pour more funds into Egypt in 2011 as a strengthening economy and attractive yields outweigh a fragile social backdrop and uncertainty ahead of a presidential election.

Even as the rest of the world's efforts to push consumer spending and economic growth are floundering, Brazil reported a more-than-expected rise in retail sales during November.

U.S. import prices jumped in December as energy costs surged, a sign that while inflation may be tame domestically there are plenty of price pressures coming from overseas.

U.S. import prices jumped in December as energy costs surged, a sign that while inflation may be tame domestically there are plenty of price pressures coming from overseas.

Another Chinese interest rate increase in the first quarter is likely, a central bank adviser said on Wednesday, but a vice governor cautioned against raising rates too steeply for fear of luring in hot money.

India's proposed food security bill will take at least a year to be finalised, delaying a key vote-winning policy for the ruling Congress party as crucial state elections loom, the Financial Express reported on Wednesday.

The government is not worried about a slowdown in the November industrial output, which reflects month-to-month volatility, the deputy chairman of India's Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said.

The U.S. Federal Reserve's aggressive bond-buying plan could soon backfire unless the central bank gradually changes course to head off inflation, a top Fed official known for his hawkish stance said on Tuesday.

Topics of this interview include Scott Carter highlighting the global dynamic of today's interest in gold, and how macro-economic trends continue to drive the decade long bull market of the precious metals. We also evaluate the possibility of seeing QE3 in 2011.

China overshot its bank loan target in 2010 and finished the year with money growth still running too fast, underscoring the need for more decisive policy tightening to keep inflation in check.