In the two centuries since then, the cost of not delivering stability has been painfully displayed: in the devastating effects of excessive inflation, such as the 1400% annual increase in prices recorded here in the early 1920s; but also in the terrible consequences of deflation, as in the 1930s. This is why most modern central banks have price stability mandates.
That is an increase of about 27 per cent from the figures of a year earlier, and is the highest threemonth total in the 30-year history of this series. Consumer demand has had a firmer tone over the summer, after a fairly lengthy period of more subdued outcomes.