Inflation surged to a new peak in June; report outdated says Biden

A typical American household now must spend $493 more each month to buy the same goods and services they did the same time last year, according to Mark Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics.

Fresh data released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that US consumer prices jumped to a new peak in June. But President Joe Biden insisted that the figures were outdated.

Data showed consumer prices climbed by 9.1% year-over-year in June—the highest level in more than 40 years.

A large part of the increase recorded in June was attributed to record-high gasoline prices, with the national average topping $5 a gallon. Overall, the energy index rose by 41.6% year-on-year.

Old data
President Biden said that the data reading was indeed “unacceptably high,” but added that the June figures were “also out of date” since gas prices have lowered in the last 30 days.

Gasoline and crude oil prices are currently below $100 a barrel, down from their peak in June.

“Today’s data does not reflect the full impact of nearly 30 days of decreases in gas prices that have reduced the price at the pump by about 40 cents since mid-June,” Biden said, adding that other commodities, like wheat, had also fallen sharply in the last month.

Inflation
According to the June data, prices for food at home were up 12.2% over the year, with eggs up 33.1%, butter up 21.3%, milk up 16.4%, chicken up 18.6%, and coffee up 15.8%.