Trump promises deal to lower surging beef prices

By the numbers: The average price of a pound of lean ground beef rose 12% so far this year and 38% versus five years ago, per the last government data released before the shutdown.

What they're saying: "We are working on beef. I think we have a deal on beef that's gonna bring the price of beef. That would be the one product that we would say is a little bit higher than we'd want it. Maybe higher than we want it," Trump said during remarks at the White House Thursday.

• "And that's gonna be coming down pretty soon too. We did something, we worked our magic."

Between the lines: A variety of factors have contributed to the sharp rise in beef prices, but a key driver is a widespread and drought-fueled shortage of cattle.

• Cattle inventories were at 75-year lows earlier this year, potentially foreshadowing supply issues for years to come as well.

What to watch: It's not clear what the purported deal would entail — producers lowering prices, or more imports with potentially lower tariffs, or some other solution to address the domestic cattle supply.

Go deeper: Beef prices keep going up, and there's no end in sight