Biden points to ‘progress’ as US prices hit record high last year

Biden points to ‘progress’ as US prices hit record high last year

WASHINGTON: US consumer prices jumped last year at the fastest pace in four decades, the government confirmed Wednesday, underscoring the potent inflation wave that has sapped public support for President Joe Biden even as the economy recovers from the pandemic. The seven percent increase in the Labor Department’s consumer price index (CPI) over the 12 months to December was the highest since June 1982, as prices rose for an array of goods, especially housing, cars and food.

Since taking office last January, Biden has presided over an economy that has expanded rapidly and seen millions of people who lost their jobs to the COVID-19 pandemic return to work. But a collision between rebounding demand, labor shortages and global supply chain snarls that made crucial components like computer chips scarce caused prices last year to climb upwards at an ever-faster rate. In a statement, Biden said the latest data contained signs of “progress” as inflation in some key sectors slowed.

“At the same time, this report underscores that we still have more work to do, with price increases still too high and squeezing family budgets,” he said. But if relief is near, economists say it may not come particularly quickly. “The peak is