President Donald Trump claimed grocery and gas prices are falling, but experts say this is a misleading assertion. Since taking office, grocery prices have accelerated and gas prices have stood essentially flat.
Trump’s claim comes despite the fact that overall inflation has eased slightly during his tenure, with a year-over-year rate of 2.4% as of March. However, even low levels of inflation indicate an increase in price levels, according to economist David Bieri. “Prices are still going up – they’re just not going up as rapidly,” he said.
Grocery prices, which make up a significant share of household budgets, have increased 2.4% year-over-year as of March, compared to a 1.9% increase in January. Meanwhile, gas prices remain unchanged since Trump took office, with the nationwide average price standing at $3.18 per gallon.
Trump’s assertion that groceries are down is also disputed by economists. “I’m not aware of any data that supports that,” said Tucker Balch, a finance professor at Emory University. Even staples like rice and pasta have seen lower prices in March compared to the previous year.
The drop in oil prices since Trump took office has led to some analysts expecting a slowdown in energy demand, which could potentially push down gas prices. However, this is not necessarily a positive indicator, according to Balch.
Source: https://abcnews.go.com/Business/trump-claims-grocery-gas-prices-falling-experts-misleading/story?id=121410734