The UK just announced a disturbing level of inflation for them (4%) and it is happening in a relatively tight monetary policy environment. Unlike the FED, the European and UK central banking authorities in general have been very cautious about lowering interest rates.
The prospect of labor strikes are everywhere including the recent strike by Shell fuel truck drivers demanding an increase in salary to about £36k per year. The current price of a gallon of gasoline in the UK is about £4.80 pounds. Diesel is £5.20/gallon Just to give you an idea about the flaccid purchasing power of the dollar largely driven by our loose money policy, that's about $10 a gallon if you were renting a car here and paying in greenbacks.
Keep in mind, the rough equivalent for a UK citizen would be to view the salary and cost of gasoline in pounds as though they were dollars, that is, a fuel truck driver making £36,000 a year is buying gas for £4.80 a gallon.
Food cost increases are pretty much exactly mirroring the rate and progression as in the U.S. however, food in general is more expensive in the UK even for its citizens paying in their own currency. Premium cuts of fresh meat are equivalent to $10-$12 a pound in U.S. terms and portion sizes are much smaller at restaurants. The typical steak dinner is a six ounce cut with the eight ounce being the king size portion.
Pork cuts range from 3.25-9.00 pound sterling per kg. with the low for whole, skin on shoulder and the high for organic loin cuts.
