Crude oil has crossed $120 a barrel since the conflict in West Asia began. Central banks that spent the last three years fighting the worst inflation in four decades are now staring down the barrel of another inflationary shock.

The last time central banks were faced with this dilemma was in 2022, when the world was reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic. Between 2022 and 2023, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed), the Bank of England (BoE), and India’s Reserve Bank of India (RBI) all raised interest rates in response to inflation. By 2025, prices had broadly retreated toward targets. But how much did it cost to get there?