Surging gas prices are driving inflation — and political jousting
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A sharp rise in gasoline prices helped nudge overall inflation higher last month.
Why it matters: The latest Labor Department Consumer Price (CPI) Index figures arrive as the presidential campaign is heating up.
- Prices at the pump are being influenced by surging crude prices, which this week touched their highest levels of the year, putting the Biden administration on the defensive.
Yes, but: As Axios' Courtenay Brown reports, when viewing "core" CPI — that is, excluding food and energy — the picture is slightly more encouraging than the headline suggests.
- Overall CPI rose 3.7% in the 12 months through August, up from 3.2% in July.
- The core gauge rose 4.3%, easing from 4.7% the prior month.
What they're saying: "Overall inflation has also fallen substantially over the last year, but I know last month's increase in gas prices put a strain on family budgets," President Biden said in a statement.
- He said he's "laser-focused on cutting energy costs, including by investing in clean energy to bolster our energy security."
The other side: "Inflation lives and dies with the cost of energy. Biden's energy policy is driving up the costs. It's crushing people's hopes," Sen. John Barrasso, the Energy Committee's top Republican, said in a statement.
