WASHINGTON – The nation is facing rising prices as gas hit an all-time high at $4.40 a gallon, which was up three cents from Tuesday.
This comes as U.S. inflation hit 8.3 percent in April, a slight drop from March.
Inflation as measured by headline CPI increased 0.3 percent month-over-month in April, well below its March monthly rate. 1/ pic.twitter.com/1y3OnBf6Cw
— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) May 11, 2022
“It was good to see that inflation has decelerated relative to last month but looking into the hood of this data there is still a lot to be concerned about,” Heather Boushey said.
Boushey is a part of the president’s Council of Economic Advisers and she told Local 10 that despite the slight dip in inflation, food and fuel prices could stay high for some time.
We know that the recovery from the pandemic will not be linear. The Council of Economic Advisers will continue to monitor the data as they come in. /end
— Council of Economic Advisers (@WhiteHouseCEA) May 11, 2022
“We know that this inflation has been caused by the supply chain challenges because of this historic pandemic and more recently because of Putin’s unprovoked war in Ukraine that has led to increases in energy prices and quite frankly food prices,” Boushey said.
Her remarks come as President Joe Biden hit the road Wednesday landing in Illinois where he heard from farmers about the impact of inflation on them.
Today, I visited a family farm in Illinois to discuss how we’re investing in farmers, reducing food prices at home, and feeding a world in need. Putin’s war in Ukraine has cut off a critical source of food, but American farmers like Jeff are helping to fill the gap. pic.twitter.com/n0kh7asHXq
— President Biden (@POTUS) May 11, 2022
In response, the commander-in-chief announced steps to ease the pain at the grocery store by boosting fertilizer production and reducing red tape for farmers in an effort to ramp up U.S. agriculture exports, which could provide some relief from the high price of food.
“Right now America is fighting on two fronts at home it’s inflation and rising prices aboard it’s helping Ukrainians defend their democracy and feeding those left hungry around the world,” Biden said.
The White House said they are also lifting Trump-era tariffs on China, but at this point, President Biden said no decision has been made yet.