CNBC host Rick Santelli said Thursday the United States under President Donald Trump was making “progress” in fighting inflation after the Department of Labor released new data.
The Producer Price Index (PPI) remained flat in February following a 0.6% rise in January and a 0.5% increase in December, according to a release from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Santelli said that the expectations were for an increase in the PPI, a prediction that turned out to be false. (RELATED: Scott Jennings Asks Dem Rep Point-Blank Why Americans Should Trust Party To Fix Inflation After 4 Years Of Biden)
“On the headline, expecting up 3/10. Up zero. Goose egg. Boy, that is progress. We haven’t had a number that low. Well, we equaled it in July of last year when we had another zero. To find a lower number, you’re back to October, October of ‘23 at -4/10,” Santelli said. “Strip out the all-important food and energy, down 1/10. Down 1/10. That’s 4/10 lower than expectations. Down 1/10 also equals July of last year. Find a lower number, you’re going back to Covid times. April of 2020. Now, let’s take the ex-food energy in trade. That comes in at up 2/10. That’s a 1/10 light to expectations. Up 2/10. How does that fit in? Well, that would actually be the lowest since it was up 1/10 in November of last year.”
“All right, let’s take a step back into macro. Year-over-year on the headline, 3.2. That’s a 1/10 cooler than expected, 3/10 less than 3.5 in the rearview mirror. And 3.2 would be the smallest month over month since 2.9 in November of last year,” Santelli continued. “Ex food and energy year-over-year comes in at 3.4., 3.4, that’s 1/10 lighter than expectations, 2/10 lighter than the rearview mirror. 3.4 equals where we were in November of last year. To find a lower number, you’re in September of ‘24. And finally, the sixth part of this PPI complex comes in at ex food, ex energy, ex trade, that comes in at 3.3, 3.3, that would be 1/10 lighter than expectations, 1/10 lighter than the 3.4 in the rearview mirror.”
Democrats have criticized Trump over high prices, especially the price of eggs, which has doubled since November 2023, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank, fueled by the culling of tens of millions of chickens in response to a bird flu outbreak during the Biden administration. […]
— Read More: dailycaller.com
