Biden celebrates Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation report on Christmas Eve eve
Christian Datoc
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President Joe Biden said Friday that the November personal consumption expenditures price index shows that the economy is “recovering and remaining resilient.”
The Bureau of Economic Analysis report published Friday showed PCE, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge, registered an annual rate of 5.5% in November, down from the month prior and below the federal government’s projected rate.
INFLATION DECLINED TO 5.5% IN KEY INDEX MONITORED BY FEDERAL RESERVE
Core PCE, which factors out volatile energy and food prices, also fell to 4.5% in November, yet core and regular inflation remain significantly elevated over the Fed’s target of a 2% annual rate.
“Once again, we are seeing signs of our economy recovering and remaining resilient. Today’s report shows that incomes are up and inflation is coming down — while our job market remains strong,” Biden wrote in his statement. “Christmas arrives with gas prices down and grocery store prices showing the lowest increase in a year. Coming the day after we saw unemployment claims remain low and estimates of economic growth revised upward, it is a winning streak for America’s families, businesses, and farmers.”
“There will be more ups and downs in the year ahead, but we are making progress building an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, and I’m optimistic for the year ahead,” the president said.
The White House has dodged questions as of late regarding Biden’s economic policies and whether the Fed’s rate hikes across 2022 are responsible for lowering prices for families.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a recent press briefing that Biden has full confidence in the Fed’s ability to set monetary policy but would not comment further on the declines.
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“I’m just not going to respond to any actions that the Fed has taken. They are independent. We’re never going to comment about that. We believe they have the best monetary policies to deal with inflation, but not going to comment on the actions that they have taken or the actions that they’re going to take,” Jean-Pierre said.
Biden himself has stated his “hope” is that prices will return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2023.