1947, 1970s, 2008. Take your pick, inflationistas

Steep hike: A customer shopping at a supermarket in Chicago. Inflation rose 5% in the 12-month ended May, the biggest jump since August 2008 with food prices rising 2.2% during the same period. — AFP

FROM spikes in Americans’ cost of living to surging factory-gate prices in China, inflation is stirring in all corners of the globe. Monetary chieftains, meanwhile, are sticking to their guns, stressing the spurt is temporary.

Investors trying to make sense of this are scouring history for the right analogies, and policy makers are scrutinizing the record for the best – and worst – approaches. Pick your era: the 1970s, the aftermath of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s collapse or even the years after World War II. All are being parsed for lessons.