The Risk Of Slowflation Rises With Mixed Wholesale Inflation Report
ForbesAug 17
US Inflation Rate Slows to 2.9%
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The Facts
The US Labor Department on Wednesday reported that the consumer price index (CPI), a broad-based measure of prices for goods and services, increased by 0.2% for July, putting the 12-month inflation rate at 2.9% — the lowest it's been since April 2021.
The core CPI registered a 0.2% monthly increase and 3.2% annual rate when food and energy were excluded.
The Spin
Democratic narrative
Democratic policies to relieve American families from the burden of inflation are working, but not everything will be fixed overnight. There's still a lot of work to do to bring relief to all Americans and there are several actions, including cracking down on corporate price gouging, that can be taken in order to completely vanquish inflation.
Republican narrative
The Biden-Harris administration, and Democrats across the country, may want to pass this modest news off as some sort of victory, but the American people are still losing. The cost of goods and services has increased by more than 5% since Biden took office, and very little has been done to relieve the pressure on consumers.