This phenomenon has been aptly described as the "Great Liquidity Expansion Puzzle". 14  BIS Review 106/2006  A number of factors explain as to why consumer price inflation has remained relatively modest despite higher oil and other commodity prices and abundant liquidity.
But since these fees have to be amortized over the term of the loan to calculate the APR, and since interest rates vary over time, even the APR can be difficult to use as a basis of comparison across loans.