Biden Reveals His Economic Priority

U.S. President Joe Biden announced that inflation in the country is "unacceptably high," and reducing it is his top economic priority. In a statement from the White House, Biden expressed confidence that the Federal Reserve would do its job to lower the high inflation rates, adding that his administration has "built a strong economy and a robust job market." He continued that "beyond the Federal Reserve, my inflation plan focuses on reducing the costs facing families and lowering the federal deficit." These remarks came after the U.S. annual consumer price inflation rose by 8.3 percent in April, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, down from 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1981. Last week, the Federal Reserve raised the dollar interest rate by 0.5 percent, the highest increase since 2000, bringing the federal funds rate range to 0.75 – 1 percent. This marks the second time since 2018 that the U.S. central bank has raised rates to control inflation, which has soared to a 40-year high due to rising gasoline, food, and housing costs, with inflation expected to increase further following the Russian-Ukrainian war.