On Wednesday, President Joe Biden said that there was “zero inflation” in July. He explained that zero inflation meant that although the prices of certain goods went up, other things came down by the same amount. He stated that the result was zero inflation. He said, “But people are hurting. But zero inflation last month.”
Biden also described it as “core inflation” and said that it was the “lowest amount in several years–several months.” He also said that the “booming jobs report” that showed that 528,000 jobs were created in July and the unemployment rate of 3.5 percent underscored the economy they had been building.
Fuel price that had hit a record average high of $5 per gallon in June has finally come down by a dollar and is at an average of $4 per gallon. However, the rise in price of food items, rent, hotel bookings and other services is continuing to increase, thereby offsetting the gains that were obtained by lower fuel price.
As expected, the president was criticized by several Republicans for his “zero inflation” comment. Some channels and outlets who lean towards the GOP also criticized Biden and the White House for these statements.
Inflation has become a worldwide phenomenon after the pandemic swept across the world, followed by the Ukraine-Russia war. There are some western economies including the U.K., who have seen a higher inflation rate when compared with the U.S.
There are also some nations around the world who have faced low inflation. However, all countries around the world, including economic behemoth China have faced inflation. The Fed, in the U.S. and its equivalents around the world have raised interest rates to tame inflation and this is expected to continue through 2023.
Considering the economic scenario around the world, tough measures including raising rates are the way forward as they could provide temporary pain but would result in a future gain in the fight against inflation, in the following years.
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