- Biden said Wednesday that dip in inflation rate is ‘heartening’ but that inflation remains ‘unacceptably high’
- Inflation in the US hit 8.3% in April, a slight decrease from the 8.5% rate reached the month before
- Though inflation is still near a four-decade high, it breaks a seven-month streak of consecutive increases
- Inflation began to soar in April 2021, meaning that annual increases are starting from a higher base level
- Still, grocery prices have shot up 10.8 percent from last year, the largest such increase since 1980
Inflation in the US hit 8.3 percent in April, falling slightly from the four-decade high it reached in March and breaking a streak of seven consecutive monthly increases in the annual rate of price increases.
The latest inflation report marks a mixed bag of news for consumers, showing that grocery prices are rising at their fastest annual rate in 42 years and flashing other signals that inflation is becoming more entrenched.
Still, President Joe Biden in a statement touted the dip in the annual ‘headline’ inflation number — which seems to be dropping mostly because prices began soaring a year ago, making the basis for comparison higher.
‘While it is heartening to see that annual inflation moderated in April, the fact remains that inflation is unacceptably high,’ said Biden. ‘As I said yesterday, inflation is a challenge for families across the country and bringing it down is my top economic priority.’
The Labor Department’s report on Wednesday said that the consumer price index increased 0.3 percent in April from the month before, for a 8.3 percent gain from a year ago, compared to March’s 8.5 percent increase.
The food index increased 9.4 percent from last year, the largest 12-month increase since 1981, and the energy index soared 30.3 percent from a year ago.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, so-called ‘core’ inflation hit 6.3 percent in the 12 months ending in April, down slightly from March’s annual rate of 6.5 percent.
However, in a troubling sign inflation is becoming more entrenched, core prices jumped 0.6 percent from March to April – twice the 0.3 percent rise from February to March. Those increases were fueled by spiking prices for airline tickets, hotel rooms and new cars. Rental costs also rose sharply.