Key highlights:
Truflation's The Big Mac Index now includes 15 new countries and now includes Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, and more.
The Index offers daily updates, reflecting Truflation's CPI, useful for economists and policymakers.
The Index exlores inflation trends, income disparities, consumer confidence, and global supply chain dynamics.
History behind the Big Mac Index
The Big Mac Index was introduced by The Economist in 1986. It is a simple yet effective tool for comparing the purchasing power across different countries. The decision to use the Big Mac â yes, McDonalds' best-selling burger â as the basis for this index was due to its availability and consistent quality. The idea behind the index is to provide a tangible way to understand how far a currency can go in different economies. This method, known as Purchasing Power Parity (PPP), is based on the idea that in an efficient market â identical goods should have the same price when expressed in a common currency.
Expanding the global reach of the Big Mac Index
Empowered by Coinbase and Chainlink, Truflation is a leader in real-time financial data. It has now added 15 additional countries to the Big Mac Index. This development improves the utility of the Index, a widely recognized economic indicator. Initially, the Big Mac Index was available only for the United States and United Kingdom. Now, the Truflation Big Mac Index includes data from Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Switzerland, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Turkey, South Africa, Mexico, Germany, Italy, France, and Spain. This expansion offers a more comprehensive view of global economic conditions, updated daily to reflect Truflationâs Consumer Price Index (CPI).
The expanded Big Mac Index provides critical insights into various economic factors. Changes in the price of a Big Mac can signal inflationary trends, reflecting shifts in input costs like labor and ingredients. Additionally, by comparing Big Mac prices relative to median income levels, the Index highlights economic inequality within and across different regions.
Consumer confidence and spending patterns also correlate with fluctuations in Big Mac prices, which makes the Index a valuable tool for monitoring these trends. The price of a Big Mac also encapsulates broader global supply chain dynamics, including commodity prices, exchange rates, and trade policies.