Central banks should ignore soaring energy costs

WAR IN UKRAINE has caused European natural-gas prices almost to double and sent oil prices soaring to over $115 a barrel. That has added to the inflation problem facing the world’s central banks. And more pain is probably coming. Western energy giants are getting out of Russia, sanctions are wreaking havoc on Russian commodities exports and the cancelling of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia to Germany will remove a potential source of relief. If Russian energy exports are cut off completely, the oil price could reach $150, rapidly boosting global consumer prices by another 2%.