Trend growth in household assets was also revised slightly lower. In contrast, growth in household disposable income was revised slightly higher, leading to a small upward revision in the saving ratio in the 2000s. 4  BIS central bankers’ speeches  It is even clearer now than it was two years ago that the behaviour of households has changed in a very important way.
Oil prices have risen strongly in recent months, and food prices have increased substantially, reflecting higher global demand. In addition, as emphasised on previous occasions, we are currently in the midst of a period in which unfavourable effects from energy prices are having a strong upward impact on annual HICP inflation rates, owing to the marked decline in oil prices a year ago.