U.S. Economy

Will Cooling Inflation Help Sell Bidenomics?

U.S. annual inflation slowed to 3% last month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

U.S. annual inflation slowed to 3% last month, according to the latest Consumer Price Index released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices generally aren’t rising as fast. There have been 12 straight months in which inflation has cooled, and the annual rate has fallen from historic highs of above 9% last June.

The sour feeling, so many Americans have about the economy, will suddenly end. Most prices aren’t going down, so anyone feeling the pinch of higher prices is still going to be feeling it. Investors actually fret the unexpectedly large ADP job gains while the following Nonfarm payrolls report, showing the broader job market, utterly disappointed, because it was read as a sign the Federal Reserve would continue to raise interest rates to further contain inflation. Its target inflation rate is 2% annually.

Inflation has made everyday life feel much more expensive since the pandemic ended. Interest rates have shot up. But prices of big-ticket items like houses have not fallen, meaning some trappings of economic stability, like homeownership, feel farther away for many Americans.

U.S. Economy

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International

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