President Biden said the United States “has never seen anything like the Putin tax on both food and gas,” after the Labor Department announced on Friday that inflation had reached a four-decade high in May. The Ministry of Labor announced on Friday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods, including gasoline, groceries and rents, rose 8.6% in May from a year earlier. Prices jumped 1% in the monthly period from April. These figures were also higher than the 8.3% of capital and the monthly profit of 0.7% predicted by Refinitiv economists. INFLATION IN A NEW HIGH 40 YEARS OLD IN MAY WITH CONSUMER PRICES TO BE EXECUTED 8.6% It marks the fastest rate of inflation since December 1981. The president, from the port of Los Angeles, said on Friday that fighting inflation was his “highest economic priority”, while again blaming Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine for rising prices. “Today I would like to talk about my top economic priority, the fight against inflation,” Biden said. “I know Americans are worried and they are worried.” “We have never seen anything like the Putin tax on both food and gas,” Biden said. President Joe Biden and the White House Reaction Team on COVID-19 participate in a virtual call with the Union of National Governors from the Auditorium of the White House Eisenhower Executive Building of the White House on Monday N / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images / Getty Images) The president said America “can tackle inflation from a position of power, unlike any other country in the world,” saying that every other country in the world “receives a big bite and a bit of inflation – worse than us, the overwhelming majority of countries around the world “. “But make no mistake, I understand that inflation is a real challenge for American families,” Biden said. “Today’s inflation report confirms what America already knows – the rise in Putin’s prices is hurting America hard,” Biden said. “Pump gas prices, energy and food prices represent half of the monthly price increases since May.” Biden said his administration “could continue to do what we can to reduce prices for the American people,” but said “Congress” is what “should act.” “I am doing everything in my power to alleviate Putin’s rise in prices and reduce the cost of gas and food,” Biden said, referring to his government’s move to coordinate the release of global oil reserves. to “stimulate supply” and “keep prices from rising even more”. The president said his government was continuing to work to reduce food and gas costs and “save more money for families”. Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting with top officials in support of Russia’s aviation industry amid Western sanctions over a teleconference conference at Novo-Ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Russia, on Thursday, March 31, 2022. (Mikhail Klime (AP / AP Images) “My dad used to tell me it all had to do with living standards, how much you have left in your salary at the end of the month, how much you have left to do the basics,” Biden said. “Well, if you add up all the things that people just need to do on their own — do everything from caring for children, turning on the heat, turning on the air conditioning and everything in between, there are a lot of ways we can to reduce their cost, their cost of living “. MCCARTHY SUCCESSFUL DEMOCRATS FOR “HISTORICAL DISASTER” AS INFLATION REACHES 40 YEARS HIGH Biden said his government had called for a reduction in the cost of prescription drugs, which he said “would fundamentally affect the well-being of every family.” The Ministry of Labor on Friday said that price increases were widespread: Energy prices rose 3.9% in May compared to the previous month and increased by 34.6% from last year. Gasoline, on average, costs 48.7% more than a year ago and 7.8% more than in April. Overall, fuel prices jumped 16.9% in May on a monthly basis, pushing a one-year increase to a staggering 106.7%. In another worrying sign, housing costs – which account for about a third of the CPI – accelerated in May, rising 0.6%. It recorded its fastest profit in a month since 2004. On an annual basis, housing costs have risen by 5.5%, the fastest since February 1991. Food prices have also risen by 10.1% year-on-year and 1.2% on a monthly basis, with the largest increases in dairy and related products (2.9% increase, the largest monthly increase since July 2007). , non-alcoholic beverages (1.7%), cereals and bakery products (1.5%), and meat, poultry, fish and eggs (1.1%). Hot inflation has created severe financial pressures for most US households, which are forced to pay more for daily necessities such as food, gasoline and rent. The burden is disproportionately placed on low-income Americans, whose already high wages are heavily influenced by price fluctuations. Rising prices erase the strong wage gains American workers have seen in recent months: Real average hourly wages fell 0.6% in May from a month earlier as inflation eroded the overall wage gain of 0.3%. %, according to the Ministry of Labor. On an annual basis, real profits fell by 3% in May. Unbridled inflation has become a major political responsibility for Biden in the run-up to the November midterm elections, in which Democrats are expected to lose their already slim majority. Surveys show that Americans see inflation as the biggest problem facing the country – and that many households blame Biden for rising prices.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Speaks during a televised interview as Parliament considers President Joe Biden’s $ 1.85 trillion domestic policy package, rising at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. , 5 November 2021. (AP Photo / J. Sco (AP Photo / J. Scott Applewhite / AP Newsroom) The hotter-than-expected report will also have significant implications for the US Federal Reserve, possibly amplifying a series of aggressive interest rate hikes as central bank officials try to tame inflation. Policymakers have already raised the benchmark interest rate by 50 basis points – double the usual size – in May and are expected to approve at least two more similar rate hikes in June and July. Republicans are taking advantage of the report, criticizing the president and his administration, as well as Democrats, for raising costs for American families. GET FOX BUSINESS IN ENGINE BY CLICKING HERE “President Biden and President Pelosi have been denying the economic realities for 17 months, creating rampant inflation. “She’s a minority leader in the House of Representatives, Kevin McCarthy, told Fox News. “The reality is that prices continue to rise at an accelerating rate and Americans are paying $ 5.00 a gallon nationwide, despite Biden running out of strategic oil reserves of 1 million barrels a day,” McCarthy said. . “Democrats need to know that this is not the ‘incredible transition’ that the president pretends to be, and yet they have no cost-cutting solutions.” Fox Business’s Megan Henney contributed to this report.