The observation, analysis and forecasting of inflationary trends is of particular interest to all economic agents -not just to institutions with monetary policy tasks. Almost all central banks have specified a price target as the final goal of monetary policy, for example, and some central banks also use inflation forecasts as intermediate targets. For the financial markets, present and future inflationary trends are essential determinants, above all , for interest and exchange rate movements. Price trends and price expectations also play a major role in plans and decisions in the goods markets ...