The only way is up: corporate chiefs warn on prices

For central bankers wrestling with the question of whether inflationary pressures are transitory, industry chiefs around the world have a clear message: prices are only going higher.

"We expect inflation to be higher next year than this year," said Graeme Pitkethly, finance chief at Unilever, which says its products, from Dove soap to Ben & Jerry's ice cream to Persil washing powder, are used by 2.5 billion people every day. A draft communique ahead of a gathering of top policymakers in Washington last week called on central banks to be ready to take"decisive actions to maintain price stability". But by the end of the meeting, the language had been toned down.

For executives at companies with a finger on the pulse of dozens of commercial sectors, such as global recruitment firm Randstad, some of the problems leading to higher prices are structural, and here to stay. Wage disputes have emerged in several countries with one of Germany's biggest unions calling for an inflation-busting wage increase of 5.3per cent for nearly 900,000 construction workers.

Swedish truck maker AB Volvo said on Thursday that while it was facing strong demand, shortages of components such as chips and freight capacity were both driving up costs and disrupting its production.

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