Increase in the amount of currency in relation to the availability of assets, commodities, goods and services. Commonly the outcome of an indirect confiscation of wealth (theft) through an over-issuance of currency (“money printing”) by central banks and governments. Although it directly influences prices, inflation is outside the supply-demand relationship and decreases the purchasing power, if wages are not increased accordingly. Almost all central banks have inflationary policies which enable governments to run deficits by slowly devaluing the debt they contracted in the past