We are closing the chapter on inflation, White House chief economic adviser Lael Brainard said in a statement after the release of data according to which the consumer price index (CPI) amounted to 2.5 percent in August. The economy, and in particular inflation, are important issues in the ongoing presidential campaign in the USA.
The CPI of 2.5 percent surprised some analysts who had predicted it would be 2.6 percent. Considering that in July it was 2.9 percent, the level Inflation CPI is the lowest since 2021, the US Department of Labor reported. According to survey conducted for The New York Times, the economy is considered by a majority of Americans to be the most important campaign issue.
Inflation in line with Fed forecasts
The latest CPI results indicate that inflation is largely behaving in line with the expectations of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), which will meet on September 18. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell did not say directly, but he has already suggested that there will be a change during the upcoming meeting. interest rate cuts. It is not clear how much they will be cut, also because the Fed makes its decisions based on another indicator, which includes some CPI data, but which is released later. As the “NYT” assessed, wages have been growing faster than prices for more than a year, which is why the administration of the president USA Joe Bidenwhich has struggled to show that it has managed to improve the economic situation in the United States, may have reason to be pleased. The Fed raised interest rates during the COVID-19 pandemic to combat rising prices at the time. Many entrepreneurs are waiting for a rate cut because companies will then be able to get cheaper loans from banks.
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