Gerard Brady: Prices are likely to stay stubbornly high

If we want to guarantee high living standards into the future, then we have an opportunity in this year of elections to look past the short-term landing point and embrace a period of accelerated change.

Commodity prices are well down on their peak in 2022 but are still almost a third higher than they were in 2019. Picture: Alan Hamilton

Over recent months, some global forecasters — most notably the International Monetary Fund (IMF) — have begun using a phrase to describe the current global economic outlook which will awaken a deep sense of unease in most Irish people.

In their view, the global economy is on its way toward a “soft landing”. Focusing too much on short-term landing points now, and ignoring the big structural changes underway, would also be a mistake.