Quote from Pa(b)st Prime:
If there was across the board commodity inflation we'd see Sugar at higher prices than 10 cents a pound.
Much commodity inflation has been of special circumstance. The global Wheat crop sucked, a drought in the South cut Cotton production, ethanol caused farmers to load up on Corn plantings with too few Soybeans and oil-well we all know the fundamentals there.
Convert the price of many commodities into Euros or Canadian dollars and the price rise is less than dramatic.
And yes there IS wage inflation but alas it's in Asia.
That's the difference between now and the 1970's. In the 70's prices skyrocketed but so did paychecks. Given the dollars weakness there's been LITTLE price pressure in the manufacturing sector. Cars, clothes, electronics are all flat.