Is inflation contained?

Rising Food Prices May Give Bernanke, Central Bankers Heartburn

By Rich Miller and Bob Willis
A customer at a fish and chip shop in Saffron Walden

July 16 (Bloomberg) -- Rising prices for food, from yogurt in the U.S. to steak in South Africa, are causing heartburn at the world's most powerful central banks.

The fastest increase in food-commodity prices in at least a decade has already led monetary authorities in England, Mexico, Chile and South Africa to lift borrowing costs. It is also sowing doubts about the U.S. Federal Reserve's focus on core inflation, which excludes food and energy, and about China's gradual approach to tightening credit.

Rising Food Prices May Give Bernanke, Central Bankers Heartburn