Let me emphasize at the outset that these remarks reflect my own views and not those of others in the Federal Reserve System.1 Since early last summer, the prices of oil, agricultural products, and other raw materials have risen significantly.
For example, the price of Brent crude oil has risen more than 70 percent and the price of corn has more than doubled; more broadly, the Commodity Research Bureau’s index of non-fuel commodity prices has risen roughly 40 percent. The imprint of these increases has become increasingly visible in overall measures of inflation.