First, the second-round effects should be  2  BIS Review 101/2008  avoided so that inflation is contained within the rise in import costs and passing of the rise in import costs on to output prices. And second, it is crucial to promote a change in economic and industrial structures to make them compatible with the new structure of relative prices.
It should, however, be noted that the current rise in crude oil prices has characteristics different from the past crises. In the current phase, global demand for crude oil has continued expanding over an extended period, and growth in demand from emerging economies has contributed in particular.