Consumer prices surged 8.3% in August compared with a year earlier. Though still painfully high, that was down from an 8.5% jump in July and a four-decade high of 9.1% in June.
PUBLISHED 8:40 AM EDT Sep. 13, 2022Sharply lower prices for gas and cheaper used cars slowed U.S. inflation in August for a second straight month, though many other items rose in price, indicating that inflation remains a heavy burden for American households.Sharply lower prices for gas and cheaper used cars slowed U.S.
"Gas prices were way down from when they peaked a couple of months ago," Harry Holzer, an economist and professor at Georgetown University, said in an interview. "And if you look at the total increase in inflation, the monthly increase was one-tenth of a percentage point. That's a really small increase."
But, the president acknowledged, the work is still far from over to help alleviate the strain on Americans' wallets. "If you're taking out a loan to buy a car, or something like that, you'll likely have to pay higher monthly payments, the interest rates on your credit card debt might go up a little bit. So those are all the different places that consumers will see it and feel it."
Republicans have sought to make inflation a central issue in the midterm congressional elections. They blame President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package passed last year for much of the increase. Many economists generally agree, though they also say that snarled supply chains, Russia's invasion of Ukraine and widespread shortages of items like semiconductors have been key factors in the inflation surge.
General Motors has said the pandemic disruptions to overseas production of semiconductors, which have reduced auto output, have largely dissipated and that supply chain disruptions overall have improved about 80% from the worst days of the pandemic.
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