Does anyone else wonder why economists, central bankers and other market commentators talk so much about exchange rates, and inflation targets; and never talk about the half-life of currencies?I find this quote from a central banker sobering… 1 Based on consumer price data, an item that cost R1 in 1960 would today cost R96.79. The rand has effectively lost 99% of its 1960 purchasing power. Given the high inflation in the second half
of the twentieth century, figures for the major currencies are similar but not as extreme: the US dollar has lost 88%; the Swiss franc has lost 76%; and the British pound has lost 95% (based on the World Bank consumer price data).