Many economists are expecting the pickup in consumer prices over the next year to push inflation to somewhere between 3 and 4 percent.

The effect of fuel price rises is likely to push inflation towards and perhaps over 5 per cent.

Recession during the Carter presidency pushed inflation higher and the exchange rate lower.

What also pushed inflation to the maximum were the commodity prices doubling every six months.

The loose monetary policies of the early 1990s pushed inflation to hyperinflationary levels.

That threatened to push inflation, now at 2.2 percent, beyond the bank's target of 2.5 percent.

But whether it pushes inflation up a lot is another question.

This pushed overall inflation in the last 12 months to 3.5 percent, the fastest clip since November.

Many economists say he squeezed the economy longer and harder than necessary to push inflation to its current levels.

They also helped to cement the Fed's credibility and to push inflation down to its lowest level in decades.