Six months after the president said inflation hit its peak, the consumer price index hit a new 40-year high.
The United States has experienced 13 straight months of high inflation since the Biden administration dismissed concerns about rising costs and said the contributing factors were “transitory.”
“We have in recent months seen some inflation, and we — at least on a year-over-year basis — will continue, I believe through the rest of the year, to see higher inflation rates, maybe around 3 percent,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said about in inflation in early June 2021. “But I personally believe that this represents transitory factors.”
Roughly a month later, in July, President Biden suggested there was no reason to worry about inflation and explained that it would be “temporary.”
“We also know that as our economy has come roaring back, we’ve seen some price increases,” Biden said in a July 19th speech last year. “Some folks have raised worries that this could be a sign of persistent inflation. But that is not our view.”
JUNE INFLATION BREAKDOWN: WHERE ARE CONSUMER PRICES RISING THE FASTEST?
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen speaks during a news conference, after attending the G7 finance ministers meeting, at Winfield House in London, Britain June 5, 2021 (Justin Tallis/Pool via REUTERS / Reuters Photos)
Biden added, “Our experts believe, and the data shows, that most of the price increases we’ve seen are expected to be temporary.”
On Wednesday, roughly a year after Yellen, Biden and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell all downplayed the 5.4% inflation in the United States, inflation surged to 9.1% which has not been seen in four decades.
It marks the fastest pace of inflation since December 1981.
SKYROCKETING INFLATION FORCES SHOPPERS TO WORK OVERTIME AND CHANGE DIETS AS PRICES SOAR
First lady Jill Biden listens as President Biden talks to reporters before boarding Marine One on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, June 17, 2022, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)
So-called core prices, which exclude more volatile measurements of food and energy, climbed 5.9% from the previous year. Core prices also rose 0.7% on a monthly basis – higher than in April and May – suggesting that underlying inflationary pressures remain strong and widespread.
Price increases were extensive, suggesting that inflation may not be near its peak: Energy prices rose 7.5% in June from the previous month, and are up 41.6% from last year. Gasoline, on average, costs 59.9% more than it did one year ago and 11.2% more than it did in May. The food index, meanwhile, climbed 1% in June, as consumers paid more for items like cereal, chicken, milk and fresh vegetables.
FED’S POWELL MET WITH LAWMAKERS ON CAPITOL HILL AHEAD OF JUNE INFLATION REPORT
Yellen admitted in May of this year that she “was wrong then about the path that inflation would take.” Powell has additionally delivered several mea culpa’s over his wrong way inflation call.
However, the White House has continued to tout the strength of the American economy as recently as last week when White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre claimed “we are stronger economically than we have been in history.”
A man shops at a Safeway grocery store in Annapolis, Maryland, on May 16, 2022, as Americans brace for summer sticker shock as inflation continues to grow. ((Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images) / Getty Images)
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox New Digital.
Fox News’ Megan Henney contributed to this report
