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A new report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has found that U.S. prices declined by 0.4 percent in June, marking the largest one-month decline in six years.
According to the data, the annual inflation rate is 3.5 percent.
The index for energy also fell 5.7 percent in June after rising 3.9 percent in May. “The energy index was the largest contributor to the monthly all items decrease, more than offsetting increases in other indexes including those for shelter and food,” the report noted.
Director of the National Economic Council Kevin Hassett told Fox News on Tuesday of the new report, “It’s absolutely the best inflation report we’ve seen in about six years; if you abstract from energy, if you look at the core, it’s all the way down, year-over-year, to 2.6 percent, which is just about where the Fed expects it to be.”
According to the new report, there was also a decrease in the price of auto insurance, apparel, medical care, and used cars and trucks.
“Sure, energy prices have come down a lot, but everything else is going down, too,” he said.
The oil and energy markets have been somewhat fraught since the U.S. went to war with Iran in late February. As negotiations with Iran have been off and on, the economy has responded in kind.
“President Trump consistently said that, as traffic in the Strait of Hormuz normalizes, oil prices – and thus overall inflation – would plummet like a rock,” said White House Senior Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai.
He continued, “The expectation-smashing June CPI report proves President Trump was right: driven by lower energy prices, inflation clocked its biggest drop since April 2020. The President’s broader economic agenda, moreover, continues to pay off with lower prescription drug, health care, car, and insurance costs along with higher real wages for everyday Americans.”
