Photo: ANP
Combating high inflation around the world is a “top priority” for US President Joe Biden. The White House said in a statement. Earlier today, new inflation figures were released from the US. Inflation in the world’s largest economy was 8.2 percent year-on-year in September, down slightly from the previous month, but higher than expected.
Core inflation, excluding energy and food prices, rose to 6.6 percent from 6.3 percent the previous month. Biden said in the statement that progress is being made in combating high inflation, but more work is needed. “The prices are still too high. Fighting inflation around the world that affects countries and families working here at home is my top priority.” He noted that his economic plans put the United States in a stronger position than other major economies to meet the inflation challenge.
To counteract high inflation, central banks around the world are raising interest rates sharply. There are fears in the financial markets that these interest rate increases will lead to a deep recession. Stock markets fell sharply on Thursday after the release of the US inflation figure, as the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, is likely to continue aggressively raising interest rates.
