WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) — Although inflation may be the lowest in three years, the White House says the war on high prices is not over.
“Our work’s not done here. We don’t have any victory laps around these issues,” said White House economic advisor Jared Bernstein.
The current inflation rate is sitting at 2.4%, slightly down from last month’s increase, “But there are prices that are still too high,” Bernstein said.
The White House says it is not taking a victory lap with these numbers, “So we’re going to keep trying to put downward pressure on prices to help build on the progress we’re making,” Bernstein added.
Bernstein credits the Biden administration’s work on energy prices, healthcare, and prescription drugs.
“These are areas where President Biden has made real progress. Progress that has eluded previous administrations,” Bernstein said.
The latest inflation numbers are moving closer to the Federal Reserve’s 2% goal.
“Americans can count, I think, the likelihood that borrowing rates continue to come down,” said Bankrate Senior Economic Analyst Mark Hamrick.
Mark Hamrick, with Bankrate, says those cuts will be in smaller steps.
Next year millions of Social Security recipients will see a 2.5% cost-of-living increase to their monthly checks. On average that’s about $50 a month. This rate is smaller than in other years.
“I put this under the category of every little bit helps,” Hamrick said.
The Social Security raise will take effect in January.
