(The Center Square) – Federal inflation data released this week show inflation may be cooling.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released consumer pricing data Wednesday and producer pricing data Thursday, showing a smaller increase that the spikes seen earlier in the Biden administration.
The BLS’ Producer Price Index rose 0.1% in June, less than experts predicted.
“The index for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services moved up 0.1 percent in June after no change in May. For the 12 months ended in June, prices for final demand less foods, energy, and trade services advanced 2.6 percent.”
The Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in June, less than predicted, and part of a 3% rise over the last 12 months.
“The index for shelter was the largest contributor to the monthly all items increase, accounting for over 70 percent of the increase, with the index for motor vehicle insurance also contributing,” BLS said. “The food index increased 0.1 percent in June after increasing 0.2 percent the previous month. The index for food at home was unchanged over the month while the index for food away from home rose 0.4 percent in June. The energy index rose 0.6 percent in June as the major energy component indexes were mixed.”
President Joe Biden touted the economic data on Twitter.
“Today we learned that annual inflation has fallen each of the last twelve months and is now down to 3%,” he wrote. “We’ve made this progress while unemployment remains near record lows. That’s Bidenomics in action.”
Others were clear to point out that while prices are rising more slowly, they are not decreasing and are still much higher than they were a few years ago because of the recent inflation spike.
While the price of some goods have stopped rising or seen a decrease in prices, other goods like certain groceries are still much more expensive.
“Since President Biden took office, the key inflation indicator PPI has increased 16.6%,” Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., said after the data was released. “It’s a clear sign that ‘Bidenomics’ is doing nothing but crushing families with high prices.”
