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President Joe Biden and his administration got some more bad reelection news on Friday as new data indicates that wholesale prices rose in January, another reminder that inflation remains a problem for the vast majority of Americans.
“The producer price index, a measure of prices received by producers of domestic goods and services, rose 0.3% for the month, the biggest move since August. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had been looking for an increase of just 0.1%. PPI fell 0.2% in December,” CNBC noted, citing data from a U.S. Department of Labor report.
“Excluding food and energy, core PPI increased 0.5%, also against expectations for a 0.1% gain. PPI excluding food, energy and trade services jumped 0.6%, its biggest one-month advance since January 2023,” the outlet added.
The report comes shortly after the consumer price index revealed persistent inflation, defying Federal Reserve projections for a gradual easing throughout the year. The CPI rose by 3.1% from a year ago, a slight decrease from its December figure but notably surpassing the Fed’s targeted 2% inflation rate.
In terms of core measurements, which the Fed prioritizes as a more enduring indicator of inflation, the CPI rose by 3.9%. It’s important to note that CPI, unlike PPI, reflects the prices consumers directly pay in the market.
When it comes to who voters believe would be better at handling the economy overall between Biden and former President Donald Trump, the latter gets the nod once again, according to a new survey.
For months now, respondents in poll after poll have said they believe that Trump, by far, would be a better steward of the U.S. economy, which soared during his first term before the pandemic. And now, a recent Financial Times/University of Michigan Ross School of Business has also found that Trump, by double digits, is preferred by voters when it comes to economic matters.
“Across the board, more chose Trump as the individual they believe would be better to handle the economy — 42 percent. Just 31 percent said the same of Biden, putting him 11 points behind Trump on that pressing issue. Another 21 percent said they neither trust Trump nor Biden on the issue of the economy,” Breitbart News reported, citing the polling data.
Furthermore, the poll found that just 27 percent currently rate the economy either “good” or “excellent,” and less than half, or 36 percent, approve of the way Biden has handled the economy, which has seen record-high inflation rates for nearly all consumer goods along with skyrocketing interest rates during his term.
Under Biden, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics:
- Overall energy prices up nearly 33 percent
- Electricity costs alone are up almost 28 percent
- Food prices are up around 21 percent
- Housing climbed almost 20 percent
“This isn’t the good old days of your grandfathers, where hard work was enough to make a living for yourself,” civil inspector Andrew Craig told Fox Business.
“It takes more ingenuity and wit with that now. It’s very hard to save money with, as you were just saying, gas prices and groceries, insurance rates and many other things that have fed into eating into our pockets.”
Overall, costs are up nearly 18 percent across the board, the BLS notes.
Fox Business added:
The Labor Department said Tuesday that the consumer price index, a broad measure of the price of everyday goods including gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.3% in January from the previous month. Prices climbed 3.1% from the same time last year.
A more detailed look at the economy shows other areas of concern. Gas prices, credit card debt, wages and home prices are among the areas most drastically impacted by rising costs.
“I’m hoping that there will be an administration change. With the current one that’s in order right now, there’s a lot of uncertainties. We need people in this nation who are for Americans and about Americans,” Craig said.
Phillip Downell, a carpenter who did not vote in the past two elections, will do so this cycle – for Republicans.
“I’m looking for a little more help. And stop charging Americans so much money,” he told Fox Business.
