Commodity Price Increases Do Not Create Inflation My previous column – “The Inflation Scare Does Not Match Reality” – drew a lot of pushback from readers who cited recent large price increases for a wide range of basic commodities, as a sign of inflationary pressure just around the corner. On the surface, it looks bad. Commodity prices are way up. The media is on alert. Inflation worries have dominated the headlines for months. (This weekend even Warren Buffett joined the outcry: “Buffett Warns on Inflation Amid Red Hot US Recovery” – The Financial Times, May 3.) And isn’t it obvious? Don’t rising prices constitute inflation by definition?