Cumulative Inflation over 10 Years

Think of it this way

It is the trip odometer that resets every ten years instead of every year. It shows how far you have traveled since the decade began.

What is Cumulative Inflation over 10 Years?

The same idea as year-to-date, with the counter reset every ten years. The decade starting in 2020 is measured against the close of 2019, and in January 2030 it will start again. It puts a number on a phrase people say a lot and almost never quantify: how much the cost of living has risen so far this decade.

How to read Cumulative Inflation over 10 Years

A long ramp that drops to zero once every ten years. What you read is the level it is reaching and how fast: completed decades remain as marks to compare against. Note one thing: the number depends on where we are within the decade, so January 2021 cannot be compared with December 2029. Lag: none; here inflation is the consequence, not the cause.

What Cumulative Inflation over 10 Years means for the market

It does not move the market: it brings no new information; it is the sum of figures already published. Its value is perspective, to see at a glance whether the decade is on track to resemble the previous one or to exceed it.

Where the money flows

No money moves here: it is the increase in the cost of the same basket, counted from the start of the decade. Example: if it reads 30%, a salary that has not risen by that much since 2019 buys less today than it did then, even if the bank shows the same figure or a bit more.

What to watch in Cumulative Inflation over 10 Years

Compare the current level with how previous decades closed: the 2000s accumulated 28.3% and the 2010s 19.0%. And remember that a decade in progress will always be below a completed one, because it still has years ahead.

How much more expensive the basket has become since the decade began. It resets to zero every ten years.