[quote=paramount]BTW, can the latest gas price rises be attributed to inflation? Is this the first sign of hyper inflation…[/quote]

No. Oil is hitting new highs even when denominated in every currency imaginable.

The real reason is that, while our own gasoline demand is still stifled by high unemployment, every single emerging market economy is firing on all cylinders (for example, Chinese GDP is up something like 8% YoY) and that puts an upward pressure on all commodities.

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For all his partisanness, Krugman tends to be more right than wrong. Facts do have a liberal bias.