Biden warns U.S. inflation could last ‘for a while’ By Reuters

by Trevor Hunnict

Beverly Hills, Calif. (Reuters) – President Joe Biden cautioned that US inflation could last “for a while” as Friday data showed politically sensitive price pressures unexpectedly intensified in recent weeks.

“We’re going to live with this inflation for some time,” Biden said at a Democratic fundraising event in Beverly Hills. “It’s going to come down slowly, but we’re going to live with it for a while.”

The cautionary comments came at an event hosted by billionaire media magnate Haim Saban, as the administration faces mounting pressure ahead of the November 8 midterm elections, where Biden’s fellow Democrats’ control of Congress is on the line.

The administration and many professional economists initially thought inflationary pressures would be “transient” as the recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continued.

But price pressures have only spread to additional goods and services globally as the Russian invasion of Ukraine has stripped oil and food supplies from an already expanding global market.

U.S. consumer inflation hit a 40-year high of 8.6% in the 12 months through May, data from the Labor Department showed, with gasoline hitting record highs and rising food costs.

Rising costs have become a political headache for the Biden administration, which has tried several measures to slash prices but said most of the responsibility for controlling inflation lies with the Federal Reserve.

Biden visited the Port of Los Angeles on Friday, where he sought to clear a backlog of goods and accused the US oil industry of capitalizing on supply shortages to slash profits.