Explainer

Trump Says Prices Are Falling. Here’s Why That Would Be Bad

A shopper carries a basket inside a grocery store in the Bronx borough of New York.Photographer: Kena Betancur/Bloomberg

US President Donald Trump has often said that prices overall in the US have fallen since he began his second term in January, a message he repeated at his Feb. 24 State of the Union address. That’s not quite right, nor would he want it to be.

It’s a difficult message for a US president to deliver to a public that is feeling squeezed financially and just wants things to go back to costing what they used to: But a little bit of inflation is actually good for the economy, whereas a drop in prices overall is typically a dangerous sign.