Nogger's Blog

18/01/11 -- Figures just out reveal that UK inflation rose by much more than most expected last month, coming in at 3.7% - from 3.3% in November and getting on for double the Bank of England's target rate of 2%.

We probably WILL be double it once January's figures come out next month.

The car went in for a service & MOT yesterday, even though it wasn't due until the end of the month. The garage rang me twice in December to remind me to book it in. When it usually goes in, I'm struggling to find a parking space and have to simply stick it wherever I can, but not yesterday - there was acres of room.

It's normally in all day too, but not yesterday, despite needing a few tweaks here and there. I took the dog with me and walked him back and they were on the blower almost as soon as I'd walked in the door.

The guy in the courtesy car they sent to collect me said he'd never known things so quiet, people just haven't got the spare cash he opined. As we drove on we went past the local petrol station selling diesel at 131.9p/litre - the one generally accepted as being the cheapest in the area. That's only 1p cheaper than the most I recall it ever being at the height of the USD147/barrel oil price boom in 2008.

I decided to go for a quick pint in the afternoon - there was after all no Chicago to distract me. So I popped into Knaresborough for a beer with my old chum Mr H. Lucky old Mr H took early retirement and can usually be found in one of two hostelries in the town around 2pm. I haven't been over to see him for about a fortnight, with all the snow & everything. Bugger me, a pint of Becks Vier has gone up 20p since then.

Interest rates may be going up sooner rather than later is what the market is starting to think, as the price of everything moves up all around us on an almost daily basis it now seems.

The pound is up above 1.60 against the dollar for the first time in almost two months this morning on the back of this latest news. It only stayed there briefly then, the last time were were above that level for any length of time was in late 2009.

Is this an opportunity or a change of fortunes?