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Crunching the biggest trends down into figures
Inflation: The silent killer
Inflation in the UK averaged
13.7% a year in the 1970s,
driven partly by a surge in the oil
price. You would have needed
£3,607.39 in 1980 to pay for
goods worth £1,000 in 1970.
This meant your investments
would have needed to return
260.74% to break even
Inflation plotline
1917
25.2%
1920
15.4%
1975
24.4%
1980
18%
1922
-14%
A century
of highs
and lows
2009
1931
-4.3% -0.5%
The inflation hedge
According to the Old
Testament, an ounce of gold
bought 350 loaves of bread
during the reign of King
Nebuchadnezzar in 562BC.
At today’s prices, an ounce
of gold would buy 1,308
white sliced loaves
Over the years, fortunes have
risen exponentially
Average cinema ticket
5p in 1941 / £7.11 in 2020
£45.5m
£90.95bn
Price increases over 10 years
Tea bags
3%
Tomatoes
3%
£10,000
Petrol
Loaf of bread
7%
13%
Minced beef
13%
Pint of bitter
23%
1790 Mr Darcy 1941 Citizen Kane 2020 Jeff Bezos
Nip of whisky
37%
TRUSTNET
Sources: Bank of England, Royal London Asset Management, Rathbones, ONS, the Bible
trustnet.com