Economics
Biden Calls Inflation Numbers ‘Out of Date.’ Americans Disagree
- Officials count on Fed to bring relief with July rate increase
- Surging costs for food and housing erode US living standards
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President Joe Biden is risking a disconnect with the American public, playing down inflation readings that have sown discontent with his handling of the US economy and unsettled a Federal Reserve his team says is key to taming prices.
The US saw the largest increase in consumer prices in more than 40 years last month, data showed Wednesday. Biden and his top economic advisers fanned out to say that the “unacceptably high” 9.1% annual inflation rate was “out of date” because it did not reflect the easing of gas prices since mid-June.