US Inflation Surge: Biden Says "Stress on Americans... Will Ease by Year-End"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Special Correspondent Joselgina] On the 10th (local time), U.S. President Joe Biden commented on statistics showing that U.S. consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in 40 years, saying, "It reminds us that Americans are genuinely stressed by rising food prices," but also noted, "Experts expect inflation to ease significantly by the end of the year."

President Biden made these remarks in a separate statement immediately after the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for January surged 7.5% compared to the same month last year. He said, "We are using every tool available to combat high prices."

First, President Biden stated, "My top economic policy priorities have been ▲creating a growing economy with higher-paying jobs and ▲lowering U.S. prices that have risen due to global inflation caused by the pandemic," adding, "We are using every tool at our disposal to fight high prices."

He acknowledged that Americans are stressed by the January CPI, saying, "There are also signs that we can overcome this challenge." He continued, "Although today's inflation figures rose, experts expect inflation to ease significantly by the end of this year," emphasizing, "We saw real wages increase last month and a slowdown in car price increases, which accounted for a quarter of last year's inflation." This suggests that inflation will soon subside.

President Biden also said, "Separately, the continued decline in new unemployment claims is good news," calling it "a sign of real progress in bringing Americans back to work over the past year." This can be interpreted as self-praise for achieving definite results in 'job growth,' one of his top economic policy priorities, despite soaring inflation.

President Biden stated, "The government will continue to unite everyone’s efforts to win this fight," adding, "We will keep rebuilding infrastructure and manufacturing to produce more in the U.S. and strengthen supply chains." He also said, "We will fight to lower costs in areas that have held back families and workers for decades, from prescription drugs to childcare, elder care, and energy costs," emphasizing, "We will further promote competition to make markets more competitive and give consumers more choices."

On the same day, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that the January CPI surged 7.5% compared to the same month last year, marking the largest increase since February 1982. This far exceeded the market expectation of 7.3% and was even higher than the previous month's 7.0% increase. The core CPI, which excludes the volatile energy and food sectors, soared 6.0% compared to the same month last year.

With inflation accelerating even in the new year, there are growing expectations that the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), may speed up its tightening measures, including interest rate hikes. As the January CPI exceeded market expectations, U.S. Treasury yields jumped in the New York bond market this morning. Major indices on the New York stock exchange are all showing declines.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.