The NYT had a useful article on increasing inflation in East Asia and its impact on the U.S.. However, the article wrongly implies that it matters to these countries that oil is priced in dollars. It doesn't. If oil were priced in potatoes, the number of bushels of potatoes it took to buy a barrel of oil would be increasing. The cost of a bushel of potatoes would in turn be rising measured in dollar terms, because the value of the dollar is falling. However, for people in East Asia, ti doesn't matter whether oil is priced in potatoes or dollars.
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