Inflation spike 0.2 percent in November and 2.7 percent in the past 12 months, according to the latest Consumer Price Index report.
The number comes despite President Donald Trump’s persistent claims that prices are declining. The president has consistently said that prices are declining despite the fact that his reciprocal tariffs have caused prices to increase for products made outside the United States.
The report is the first Consumer Price Index report since the end of the government shutdown. The Bureau of Labor Statistics did not collect data in October because of the shutdown.
The index for food rose by 0.1 percent over the past two months ending in November and by 2.6 percent in the past year. But the increase was more pronounced for products such as bananas, which rose 6.7 percent in the past year; beef and veal, which rose by 15.8 percent; and coffee, which rose 18.8 percent in the last year.
This comes as other economic indicators show signs of an economy slowing down. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its jobs report for November showing the economy added only 64,000 jobs in November and the unemployment rate ticking up.
During his address to the nation on Wednesday evening, the president insisted that prices were falling despite evidence to the contrary.
“Wages are up, prices are down. Our nation is strong. America is respected, and our country is back stronger than ever before. We are poised for an economic boom the likes of which the world has never seen,” Trump said in a Wednesday evening address.
This comes as polling shows Americans do not trust the president on inflation.
The latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll published this week showed that 57 percent of respondents disapproved of the president’s handling of the economy and only 36 percent of Americans approve of his handling. And only about 30 percent of Americans said the cost of living in their area is affordable.
This comes despite the president persistently saying that “affordability” is a “hoax” as many Democrats ranging from New Jersey’s Gov.-elect Mikie Sherrill and New York City’s incoming mayor Zohran Mamdani winning their races because of their persistent campaigning on the subject.
-Andrew Feinberg and Brendan Rascius contributed reporting
