We’ve had double-digit inflation for 12 months now and I fear that, in some ways at least, we’ve begun to get used to it. Official statistics don’t support the idea yet but I wonder whether we’re beginning to see the first signs that it’s starting to take significant strides downwards. It certainly needs to.

The reasons for the rise are well-documented, including a lockdown-induced craving for imported electronic goods, the Ukraine conflict and the profiteering by major retail names including the supermarkets and petrol companies, who, in many cases, are one and the same thing.

A move in the right direction

Slowly but surely there are visible signs that these giants are beginning to think about customers and not just shareholders. Fuel prices at the pumps have been falling gradually for a few months now – not as fast as they should have been given the reduction in bulk oil prices over the same period, but a move in the right direction. Supermarkets too have been seen to reduce prices on key foodstuffs, albeit from a ridiculously high level in the first place.

Much has been said about wage rises not keeping pace with inflation and that’s probably true in general, as the recent spate of industrial actions would tend to suggest. But employers have to be able to afford cost increases for their workforce, which means increasing their prices and/or making savings elsewhere. And that’s not always easy to achieve. Getting inflation back down to lower numbers will ease the pressure for employers and staff alike.

Are interest rates having the desired effect?

One of the government’s favourite ways of tackling inflation is to increase interest rates, which have also risen steadily during the past 12 months or more. They are close now to the level at which most experts thought they would peak. But are they having the desired effect?

Not initially, that’s for sure, as inflation was being run by increasing fuel costs rather than the sort of discretionary spend that interest rates are supposed to reduce. But with fuel prices starting to fall, maybe they’ll start to do their job at last, allowing rates to return to more afford-able levels for many people and businesses.

Cautious optimism maybe? Fingers crossed definitely.