INVESTMENT management company 7IM regularly share interesting and out of the ordinary insights with those financial advisers they work with.

So often we find that this helps us look at the markets and the economy - indeed, all matters financial - in a slightly different context.

What they share with us is invariably something that brings clarity to the world we inhabit.

And their current insight had great resonance with me.

It concerns the price of a good old British pint of milk... and beer.

And - believe me - not all pints are created equal.

Did you know that by law, there are only a few things which are allowed to be sold using imperial units:

• Troy ounces for gold (and other precious metals) *
• Pint for bottled milk
• Pint for draught beer and cider

Using data from the ONS, we can compare the price of a pint of lager with the price of a pint of milk over the last 35 years.

In January 1988, the price of a pint of milk was 25p, and the price of a pint of lager was £1.

This means you could have exchanged your pint of milk for a quarter of a pint of lager... if you were in the right pub and found the right person.

If we look at the same thing every five years up to today, we get the following:

Source: ONS/7IM. These are all countrywide averages – your own milk/lager ratio may differ.

Today, your pint of milk would get you just under one sixth of a pint... which - let's face it - is a mere gulp for many of us.

Now, as I've said before: people don’t talk about inflation, they talk about price rises - especially on things we buy regularly.

Inflation is as much psychology as economics.

So, what's my point?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) will say that the annual rates of inflation on milk are 3%, and 5% on lager.

But what we notice is this:

• As of January 2023, a pint of milk is 70p – up almost three times since 1988.
• A pint of lager is £4.39 – an increase of four and a half times over the same 35 years.

These stats are certainly food - and drink - for thought.

* https://www.gov.uk/guidance/packaged-goods-weights-and-measures-regulations#:~:text=Metric%20units%20of%20measurement%20must,pint%20for%20bottled%20milk