WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – President Joe Biden says the economy is one of the main factors in his decision to run for re-election.
The latest figures from the Labor Department show that inflation is slowing, and the president argues that the US is on the right track, but Republicans do not accept this.
“I’m here to finish the job I started,” Biden said. “If I’m re-elected in the future, things will be much better. Our economy is growing.”
There are mixed criticisms of how the president is handling the economy. Republicans like Senator Josh Hawley say prices are still far too high.
“The overall numbers are terrible,” Hawley said. “Groceries. Gas. Nobody can afford a car. Nobody can afford a house. I mean, it’s just unbelievable.”
President Biden is touting figures from the latest consumer price report, which show that consumer prices fell 0.1% from May to June.
Labor Department figures also show that inflation is lower overall. Year-on-year, prices rose 3% in June, which is less than the 3.3% annual rate in May.
“We had a great economic report showing that inflation is down,” Biden said.
Economists agree that the fresh report contains encouraging signs.
Greg McBride is the chief financial analyst at Bankrate.
“The inflation rate is actually down month-on-month because we’ve seen a very sharp decline in energy prices, particularly gasoline, but also electricity,” McBride said.
Another highlight is housing costs, which are finally moderating, he says. McBride says that’s helping to keep core inflation, which excludes gasoline and food costs, relatively stable, even though budgets may still be tight.
“When inflation goes down, it doesn’t mean prices are going down. It just means they’re not going up as fast,” McBride said.
So when will people start to feel better about the economy? McBride says there are reasons to believe this could happen soon. Wages are rising steadily and he believes this will give people more purchasing power in the long run.
“As wages continue to rise but prices do not rise as quickly, households will have a little more flexibility in their household budgets over time,” McBride said.
Lower inflation could also lead the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates as early as September.
