美国国家公共电台 NPR--Along with the U.S., Europe is hit with extraordinarily high inflation numbers

Along with the U.S., Europe is hit with extraordinarily¹ high inflation numbers

Transcript²

NPR's Leila Fadel talks to Holger Schmieding, chief economist³ at Berenberg Bank in Berlin, Germany, about high inflation across the Eurozone.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Soaring consumer prices aren't just a problem in the U.S. As President Biden met with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell about the highest inflation rates in decades, the European Union's statistics agency yesterday released its own record numbers. Prices last month climbed 8.1% compared to May of last year in countries that use the euro. Holger Schmieding joins us now from Berlin to talk about what the Eurozone is facing. He's the chief economist at Berenberg Bank. Good morning.

HOLGER SCHMIEDING: Good morning.

FADEL: So let's start with bankers being caught off guard, it seems, in the U.S. and in the Eurozone. They didn't seem to fully⁴ anticipate just how high inflation numbers were going to get. Why is that?

SCHMIEDING: That's absolutely correct. And this is very much true for Europe, where the inflation that we are having is exclusively the result of higher prices for energy, food and a result of these logistic logjams exacerbated⁵ recently by the Chinese lockdowns. And unlike in the U.S., where you had an excessive fiscal⁶ policy during the pandemic and hence a very strong boom in consumer spending on goods, which nourished inflation, Europe does not have that. Our inflation is high. It's almost as high as in the U.S. But that's because we are more exposed to the sky-high prices for energy, including natural gas, as a result of Putin's war against Ukraine. And that's the problem for the central bank because the inflation in Europe has nothing to do with domestic policies.

FADEL: Right.

SCHMIEDING: Well, it's difficult for them to do much about it, at least in the near term.

FADEL: But other major central banks, the Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, responded faster than the European Central Bank in the face of inflation. Why?

SCHMIEDING: The European Central Bank is slow in responding. But once again, that's because the inflation that we have on the European continent has nothing to do with the domestic situation. For example, in the U.S., we have wage gains of 5%-plus. In the United Kingdom, we have wage gains of 5%-plus, which is probably, in the long run, more than is compatible with, say, a 2% inflation rate. In the eurozone, however, wage gains are only in the range of 2% so far because of the lack of domestic reasons for inflation. The European Central Bank has been looking at the data for longer, wondering what to do. But it has now come to the conclusion that in order to hold back inflation expectations, in order to prevent wages from reacting a lot later on to the high prices that the European Central Bank now thinks it has to act. And that is correct.

FADEL: Now, rising prices are not hitting all eurozone countries in the same way - right? - Estonia getting it the worst right now. What accounts for that?

SCHMIEDING: It is largely the phenomenon that some countries are more exposed to Russia, are more dependent on Russian energy or, in their turn away from Russian energy, now have to pay the very high prices that you need if you suddenly switch away from that.

FADEL: Right.

SCHMIEDING: Also, as a general rule, a country that is somewhat poorer or a region that is somewhat poorer, in that region, people spend a higher share of their income on energy and on food - that is, on these two things which have now skyrocketed in prices...

FADEL: Right.

SCHMIEDING: And that accounts for a major part of the difference within the eurozone. And probably, if you look at the U.S., you would find some similar phenomenon between different regions with different degrees of per capita income.

FADEL: How significant is the difference in inflation rates across the European Union, if you could give us some example?

SCHMIEDING: It is quite significant. At the top, we have inflation rate of close to 20% in Estonia. At the bottom, we have inflation rate slightly below 6% in France. That's a huge difference. In France, part of this below-average inflation is the result of the government just capping energy prices and cutting some taxes.

FADEL: Now, what tools does the European Central Bank have for helping⁷ people face these intense prices?

SCHMIEDING: Well, the central bank has no tools for that, actually. The ones who have the tools are the finance ministers, who can pay subsidies⁸ or governments that can intervene in energy markets, which may not be efficient, but which can, to some extent, restrain the rise in prices. The only thing a central bank can do is to curtail⁹ the overall growth of the economy, so that as a result of that, with less demand or less demand growth, there is less overall pressure on prices. But the central bank has no tool to selectively help those who need help most.

FADEL: Holger Schmieding is chief economist at Berenberg Bank. Thank you so much for your time.

SCHMIEDING: You're welcome. Thank you.

1 extraordinarily   

adv.格外地；极端地

参考例句：

• She is an extraordinarily beautiful girl.她是个美丽非凡的姑娘。
• The sea was extraordinarily calm that morning.那天清晨，大海出奇地宁静。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 economist   

n.经济学家，经济专家，节俭的人

参考例句：

• He cast a professional economist's eyes on the problem.他以经济学行家的眼光审视这个问题。
• He's an economist who thinks he knows all the answers.他是个经济学家，自以为什么都懂。

4 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

5 exacerbated   

v.使恶化，使加重( exacerbate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The symptoms may be exacerbated by certain drugs. 这些症状可能会因为某些药物而加重。
• The drugs they gave her only exacerbated the pain. 他们给她吃的药只是加重了她的痛楚。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

7 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

8 subsidies   

n.补贴，津贴，补助金( subsidy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• European agriculture ministers failed to break the deadlock over farm subsidies. 欧洲各国农业部长在农业补贴问题上未能打破僵局。
• Agricultural subsidies absorb about half the EU's income. 农业补贴占去了欧盟收入的大约一半。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 curtail   

vt.截短，缩短；削减

参考例句：

• The government hopes to curtail public spending.政府希望缩减公共事业开支。
• The minister had to curtail his visit.部长不得不缩短访问日期。