President Joe Biden cheered news that a key indicator of inflation fell for the primary time in greater than two years, saying “it’s clearer than ever” that his economic policies are working.
“This morning we’ve some excellent news,” Biden said in a speech Thursday. While consumer prices are still higher than they were a 12 months ago, the pace at which they’re rising has slowed every month over the past six months, he noted. “It’s down from 9.1% this summer. Inflation is now at it’s lowest level since October 2021.”
The general consumer price index dropped 0.1% from the prior month, marking the most important month-over-month decrease since April 2020, when much of the country was in lockdown resulting from Covid-19. The report released by the Labor Department on Thursday found overall CPI rose 6.5% from a 12 months ago, the bottom level since October 2021.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs and is the popular inflation indicator by economists, rose only 0.3% over the past month and 5.7% from a 12 months ago. Each indicators were according to estimates from economists.
The information is sweet news for Biden who for months has asked the nation to think about his economic plans amid persistent inflation. He reminded Americans of the state of the economy when he entered office.
“The pandemic was raging and the economy was reeling. We acted decisively to place in place a recent strategy that may rescue the economy from the pandemic downturn,” Biden said. “At the identical time we laid the muse for a stronger more resilient economy for a long time to come back. Now, two years in, it’s clearer than ever that my economic plan is working.”
Biden lauded other positive economic indicators just like the Labor Department’s jobs report last week which found unemployment at its lowest level in 50 years.
“My first two years in office were the 2 strongest years for job growth on record,” Biden said. “We still have more work to do, but we’re clearly moving in the best direction and there is more respiratory room in store for American staff and families.