OK, let’s take a different tack.
You said,
>> Central banks everywhere are fighting oil prices with higher interest rates. It’s a stupid thing to do.
Then you said,
>> It’s stupid because oil prices don’t cause inflation.
That hinges on your assertion that central banks are fighting “oil prices” with higher interest rates.
Do you have any support for that assertion? Can you point me to a link that gives evidence that central bankers claim higher interest rates are “fighting oil prices”?
Because I think CB are fighting CORE INFLATION (not “oil prices”) with higher interest rates.
First off, it's well known that central banks blame their economies for inflation. Economic growth and low unemployment are usually their targets. Looking at Europe, growth is lackluster, and unemployment is still high, yet they are hiking rates. There is no other cause except oil prices.
But it really doesn't matter whether I am right about their reason for hiking rates. What matters is that central banks are ineffective at fighting inflation, because they operate on the incorrect theory that the source of inflation is economic, whether it's low unemployment or oil prices, or something else.
Here is a chart documenting the Federal Reserve's failure. It should be noted that the FOMC started operations in 1936, and promptly caused a recession because it incorrectly feared that ample gold reserves would cause inflation.
