Inflation's many fathers: Dollar movement may be most crucial one for Asia

In six out of 11 countries in the region, including China and South Korea, the exchange rate has a strong bearing on inflation

In the words of economist Milton Friedman, inflation is "always and everywhere" a monetary phenomenon. But if you asked a brokerage analyst in Singapore why prices were soaring in 2007, the response might well have been, "Ah, bus fares went up." 

That was then. When the general price level is not a problem (like now), there's little interest in studying food or fuel costs, exchange rates or even the more expensive haircuts and meals that people associate with dearness in a tight labour market. But peacetime is when central banks have to prepare for the coming war, lest they be caught