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His
statement was released by the White House after U.S. consumer
prices increased solidly in December, culminating in the largest
annual rise in inflation in nearly four decades.
"We are making progress in slowing the rate of price increases.
At the same time, this report underscores that we still have
more work to do, with price increases still too high and
squeezing family budgets", Biden said.
In the 12 months through December, the consumer price index
surged 7%. That was the biggest year-on-year increase since June
1982 and followed a 6.8% rise in November.
The report from the Labor Department on Wednesday followed on
the heels of data last Friday showing that the labor market was
at or near maximum employment.
White House economic adviser Brian Deese said later on Wednesday
that supply chain challenges manifested themselves more than
people had anticipated as he addressed questions about a rise in
inflation.
"We've seen a number of unanticipated outcomes," Deese told
reporters in a briefing. Price inflation is a "global
phenomenon," he said, one that is connected to the COVID-19
pandemic and related supply chain challenges that have evolved.
Deese said the Biden administration plans to take additional
steps this month to attempt to further ease bottlenecks at
ports. He said most forecasters expect prices to moderate over
the course of 2022.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru and Jeff Mason in
Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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