Bloomberg raised eyebrows with an op-ed telling Americans earning less than $300,000 to eat less meat and cut back on chemotherapy for pets to beat spiraling .
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The latest data showed the price of basic necessities rising sharply, with groceries up 8.6 percent from a year ago, shelter rising 4.7 percent, clothing up 6.6 percent, and energy up 25.6 percent.
Most of the inflationary impacts of Russia's invasion of Ukraine were not captured in the consumer price index for February, which does not reflect the fallout from oil and commodities prices that soared in early March.
This week the price of gasoline set new all-time records for three consecutive days, hitting a national average of $4.32 on Thursday, but those increases will only show up when March inflation data is released.
Inflation in the United States reached a new 40-year high of 7.9% in February in another grim signal for consumers
Gas prices are displayed at a gas station in Long Beach, California last week.
The national average price of gasoline set a new all-time high, hitting $4.32 per gallon for regular
For most Americans, inflation is running far ahead of pay raises received in the last year, making it harder for them to afford necessities like food, gas and rent.
As a consequence, inflation has become a top political threat to Biden and congressional Democrats as the crucial midterm elections draw closer.
Small business owners now say in surveys that it's their primary economic concern, too.
In his statement, Biden touted a strong recovery in the jobs market, with the latest unemployment data showing that jobless claims levels have returned to pre-pandemic averages.
'At the same time, today's inflation report is a reminder that Americans' budgets are being stretched by price increases and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin's price hike,' he added.
Biden touted his move to release 60 million barrels of oil from strategic reserves, although the move did nothing to reduce crude oil prices.
He also touted his initiative to manufacture goods in America, which he claims will reduce prices.
For over a year now, inflation has way overshot the Fed's 2 percent annual target. The U.S. central bank is expected to start raising interest rates next Wednesday to stamp out inflation, with economists expecting as many as seven rate hikes this year.
The Fed faces a delicate challenge, though: If it tightens credit too aggressively this year, it risks undercutting the economy and perhaps triggering a recession.
For now, solid consumer spending, spurred in part by a further reopening of the economy as Omicron fades, on top of higher wages and pricier gas, will likely send inflation higher for months.
Oil prices did fall back last week on reports that the United Arab Emirates will urge fellow OPEC members to boost production. U.S.
oil was down 12 percent to $108.70 a barrel, though still up sharply from about $90 before Russia's invasion.
Yet energy markets have been so volatile that it's impossible to know if the decline will stick. If Europe were to join the U.S.
and the United Kingdom and bar Russian oil imports, analysts estimate that prices could soar as high as $160 a barrel.
The national average price of gas hit $4.252 last week, setting an all-time record for the second day in a row
This GasBuddy.com chart shows just how steeply prices have risen over the last month, from $3.46-a-gallon on February 8, to $4.31 a gallon on March 9
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