On Thursday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “MTP Daily,” host Chuck Todd pushed back on President Joe Biden’s claim that the February inflation numbers are due to “Putin’s price hike” by saying that while the situation in Ukraine is a contributing factor, it can’t bear all the blame. Because February’s inflation numbers are “pretty much in line with what we’ve seen the last few months, even before the Russian invasion.”
After reading from Biden’s statement, Todd stated, “There’s something to that, but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The situation in Ukraine certainly is contributing to the current sort of — if you will, almost an accelerant to inflation, but it’s not solely to blame.”
He added, “The Consumer Price Index was up 0.8% in February 2022. That’s pretty much in line with what we’ve seen the last few months, even before the Russian invasion. Food and energy continue to be what’s driving this month-over-month increase, and in some ways, energy is connected to the food increase. Gasoline and fuel oil prices were both up over 6.5%, and of course, both are actually being exasperated by the global energy uncertainty. But, if you take away the commodities of food and energy, inflation still grew at 0.5% last month because of increases in the costs of shelter, recreation, furniture, and a host of other things. Remember, we still have this supply chain thing. This is still part of the COVID sort of comeback, if you will. Gas prices may be causing inflation numbers to pop off the page now, but inflation is still growing across the board as we dig out from the COVID stoppage.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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