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    Americans, especially Republicans, are getting more worried about inflation.

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    Americans are more worried about inflation than at any point since 1985, and that concern is quickly escalating, according to a new poll, a potential problem for Democrats and the White House ahead of the midterm elections in November.A Gallup poll released Tuesday showed that rising prices were the No. 1 economic concern for Americans, with 17 percent calling inflation the “nation’s most important problem.”Inflation stress divided slightly among income groups — 63 percent of adults earning $40,000 or less were very concerned, compared with 58 percent of those earning $100,000 or more — and starkly along political lines. About 79 percent of Republicans were seriously worried about inflation, versus 35 percent of Democrats.“That reflects the ongoing phenomenon we’re seeing in polarization,” said Lydia Saad, director of U.S. social research at Gallup. She noted that people increasingly answered economic questions differently when their party controlled the White House, and often in a way that reflected the administration’s messaging. “Democrats are just going to downplay problems, just like Republicans did when Trump was in office,” she said.President Biden’s administration initially expected rapid inflation to fade. As it has lingered, the White House has switched to arguing that it is part of a global phenomenon and has been exacerbated by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. That is accurate but probably not the full story, since inflation in the United States is higher than in many other developed economies.Prices in the United States rose 7.9 percent in the 12 months through February, according to the latest reading of the Consumer Price Index released this month. That was the highest level of inflation since early 1982.Ms. Saad said it might be a “silver lining” that the worry index was lower now than at the start of the 1980s, when about half of American adults ranked rising prices as the nation’s top problem. Inflation had been elevated for years back then, peaking at about 14.6 percent in 1980.Even so, rising prices have been undermining confidence in the overall economy, according to the Gallup numbers and other consumer sentiment readings. Survey data from the University of Michigan shows that Republicans have been more pessimistic about the economy than at any point since 1980. Democrats, while more optimistic, were less confident in March than they had been at any point since Mr. Biden’s 2020 election victory. More

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    CPI Is Expected to Put Inflation at 7.8% for February 2022

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    Prices in the year though February were expected to have risen 7.8 percent, which would be the fastest pace of inflation in 40 years as gas prices increased and an array of goods and services became more expensive.Fresh Consumer Price Index data is set for release Thursday morning, and that estimate — the median in a Bloomberg survey of economists — underscores the grim reality facing economic policymakers. Climbing prices are hitting consumers in the pocketbook, causing their confidence to fall and stretching household budgets. The burden is falling most intensely on lower-income households, which devote a big chunk of their budgets to daily necessities that are rapidly becoming costlier.The quickest inflation in most Americans’ lifetimes is hurting President Biden politically, and the challenge could grow temporarily worse amid fallout from sanctions and other economic responses to Russia’s war in Ukraine, which has already pushed gas prices higher. Rising prices tend to make voters unhappy, posing trouble for Democrats ahead of the midterm elections in November.Understand Inflation in the U.S.Inflation 101: What is inflation, why is it up and whom does it hurt? Our guide explains it all.Your Questions, Answered: Times readers sent us their questions about rising prices. Top experts and economists weighed in.How Americans Feel: We asked 2,200 people where they’ve noticed inflation. Many mentioned basic necessities, like food and gas.Supply Chain’s Role: A key factor in rising inflation is the continuing turmoil in the global supply chain. Here’s how the crisis unfolded.They are also a problem for the Federal Reserve, which is in charge of achieving price stability. The central bank has signaled it will raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point at its meeting next week, likely the first in a series of moves meant to increase the cost of borrowing and spending money and slow down the economy. By reducing consumption and slowing the labor market, the Fed is able to take some pressure off inflation over time.“Mortgage rates will go up, the rates for car loans — all of those rates that affect consumers’ buying decisions,” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, told Congress last week. “Housing prices won’t go up as much, and equity prices won’t go up as much, so people will spend less.”Even as the Fed prepares to rein in demand, high gas costs tied to the conflict in Ukraine threaten to keep inflation elevated for longer. They could become a serious issue for central bank policymakers if they help convince consumers that the burst in prices will last. If people begin to expect inflation, they may change their behavior in ways that make it more permanent — accepting price increases more readily and asking for bigger raises to keep up.This is just the latest instance, as far as prices go, in which what can go wrong does seem to be going wrong.Inflation F.A.Q.Card 1 of 6What is inflation? More

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    How a Ban Russian Oil Imports Could Affect the U.S. Economy

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    The ban on Russian oil imports announced by President Biden on Tuesday could have meaningful consequences for the U.S. economy, pushing prices at the gas pump higher when inflation is already rapid, although how long-lasting that impact might be remains uncertain.“We’re banning all imports of Russian oil and gas and energy,” Mr. Biden said, speaking at a White House briefing. He said the plan would target the “main artery” of the Russian economy. While he acknowledged that the move would likely push gas prices up, he blamed Russian aggression for that reality.The ban applies to imports of Russian oil, liquefied natural gas and coal. It also prohibits new U.S. investments in Russia’s energy sector. And it blocks Americans from financing or enabling foreign companies that are making investments to produce energy in Russia.Europe imports far more of its supply from Russia than the United States, but energy markets are global, and the mere threat of a ban has pushed commodity prices higher in recent days.“Things have been so volatile,” said Omair Sharif, founder of Inflation Insights, noting that it was difficult to tell how much of the rise in oil prices in recent days traces back to this specific ban. But the conflict in Ukraine is clearly pushing commodity gas prices higher — so much so that the national average gas price could rise to nearly $4.50 this month, he said, “assuming we don’t move any more.”While the oil and gas ban is almost sure to push inflation higher in the United States, economists have said that the scale of the economic consequences would depend in large part on how it was structured. For instance, it would likely make a big difference globally and in markets if Europeans also ban Russian oil and gas imports, and it is not yet clear whether or to what extent that will happen.A ban across many countries “would severely reduce and disrupt energy supply on a global scale and already high commodity prices would rise,” Caroline Bain, an economist at Capital Economics, wrote in a research note ahead of the announcement, estimating that the price of the global oil benchmark, Brent crude, would settle in at about $160 per barrel in that case.The Brent crude price jumped by about 6 percent to roughly $130 per barrel by the middle of the day Tuesday. By comparison, it was about $78 per barrel at the end of 2021.The 10 Largest Oil Producers in 2020

    Source: Energy Information AdministrationBy The New York TimesIt is not yet clear how many countries will adopt a similar ban: The White House signaled this week that the United States could act separately in blocking imports of Russian oil, noting that countries in Europe are more reliant on Russian energy, something Mr. Biden also alluded to on Tuesday.“Many of our European allies and partners may not be in a position to join us,” he said, but added that allies “remain united in our purpose” to inflict pain on Russia’s war effort. That includes efforts by the European Union to lessen its dependence on Russian energy.Britain indicated on Tuesday that it would take its own steps to ban imports of Russian energy products. Kwasi Kwarteng, the country’s business and energy secretary, said that it would phase out imports of Russian oil and oil products by the end of 2022.Other European countries are under increasing pressure to follow suit.“Everything’s on the table,” Franck Riester, the French minister for foreign trade, told the franceinfo radio station on Monday, adding that France had to look at potential bans on oil and gas imports from Russia with regard to “consequences in terms of pressure on Russia and in terms of economic, financial and social impacts in Europe.”The office of President Emmanuel Macron of France said on Tuesday evening that the country had to coordinate with the European Union before taking any further steps, but acknowledged Europe’s need to reduce its reliance on Russia.“The United States is not dependent on Russian oil and gas, but the European partners are,” Mr. Macron’s office said in a statement. “We have a long-term policy of getting rid of the dependence on Russian oil and gas, but in the immediate future we need to discuss this with our European partners.”While Italy is very dependent on Russian gas, the nation’s government has said that if the European Union decided to cut off its consumption of Russian gas and oil, Italy would not oppose the effort.The direct U.S. economic impact from the loss of Russian oil is likely to be notable, though less severe than what would happen in Europe. According to the International Energy Agency, the United States imported less than 700,000 barrels of oil per day from Russia in 2021. That represents less than 10 percent of what the United States imports globally.Higher global oil and gas commodity prices and rising prices at the pump will add to the inflationary pain that is already dogging consumers. Prices are climbing at the fastest pace in 40 years, and data this week is expected to show that the annual increase climbed higher in February.The Russia-Ukraine War and the Global EconomyCard 1 of 6Rising concerns. More

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    January Fed Minutes Show Concern About Inflation's Spread

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    Officials at the Federal Reserve expressed concern about inflation at their meeting in January, in particular that it had spread beyond pandemic-affected sectors into other areas, and agreed it would be warranted to begin scaling back their support for the economy faster than they previously had anticipated, minutes of the meeting released Wednesday showed.Fed officials noted that the labor market remained strong, though the Omicron wave of the coronavirus had worsened supply chain bottlenecks and labor shortages, and that inflation continued to significantly exceed the levels the central bank targets.Most officials still expect inflation to moderate over the year as pandemic-related supply bottlenecks ease and the Fed removes some of its support for the economy. But some participants warned that inflation could continue to accelerate, pointing to factors like rising wages and rents. If inflation does not move down as they expect, most Fed officials agreed that they might need to pare back their support for the economy even more quickly, though that could carry some risk.The outlook for inflation could be worsened by China’s zero-tolerance policy toward Covid, which has led to expansive lockdowns that have shuttered factories; a clash in Ukraine that could push up global energy prices; or the spread of another variant, they said.The central bank emphasized that the pace of interest rate increases would hinge on how the economy developed. But most officials agreed that the Fed should take a faster approach to cooling the economy than it did in 2015, when it began raising rates at a slow and plodding pace in the wake of the Great Recession.“Most participants suggested that a faster pace of increases in the target range for the federal funds rate than in the post-2015 period would likely be warranted, should the economy evolve generally in line with the committee’s expectation,” the minutes read.Fed officials also agreed that it was appropriate to proceed with plans to trim the nearly $9 trillion in securities that the central bank holds. Most officials preferred to keep to a schedule announced in December, which would end such purchases starting next month, though some viewed an earlier end to the program as warranted and a way to signal that they were taking a stronger stance to fight inflation.Policymakers said the labor market had made “remarkable progress in recovering from the recession associated with the pandemic and, by most measures, was now very strong.”The January meeting solidified what markets had been anticipating: that the Fed was on track to raise interest rates in March. The question now is how quickly, and by how much. Many investors have speculated that the Fed could raise its interest rate by half a percentage point in March, instead of its usual quarter-point increase.In a statement after their two-day policy meeting in January, Fed officials laid the groundwork for higher borrowing costs “soon.” Jerome H. Powell, the Fed chair, said at a news conference after the meeting that “I would say that the committee is of a mind to raise the federal funds rate at the March meeting, assuming that the conditions are appropriate for doing so.”Inflation has continued to run hot since the Fed’s last meeting, and wage growth remains elevated. A key inflation measure released last week showed that prices were climbing at the fastest pace in 40 years and broadening beyond pandemic-affected goods and services, a sign that rapid gains could prove longer lasting and harder to shake off.January’s Consumer Price Index showed prices jumping 7.5 percent over the year and 0.6 percent from the prior month, exceeding forecasts. A separate inflation gauge that the Fed prefers also showed that prices remained elevated at the end of 2021. Overall, prices have been climbing at the fastest pace since 1982.Wall Street is now anticipating that interest rates could rise to more than 1.75 percent by the end of the year, up from near zero now. Markets began to bet on a double-size rate increase after January’s inflation data came in surprisingly strong. But some Fed officials have been tempering those expectations, saying they need to take a steady approach.Mary C. Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, said on Sunday that the Fed needed to get moving but that its approach ought to be “measured.”“I see that it is obvious that we need to pull some of the accommodation out of the economy,” Ms. Daly said on “Face the Nation.” “But history tells us with Fed policy that abrupt and aggressive action can actually have a destabilizing effect on the very growth and price stability we’re trying to achieve.” More

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    CPI Inflation Climbed 7.5 Percent in January, the Fastest Rise Since 1982

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    Consumer Price Index data showed prices climbing faster than expected, picking up across a broad array of goods and services.

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    Year-over-year changes in the Consumer Price Index
    Seasonally adjustedSource: Bureau of Labor StatisticsBy The New York TimesA key inflation measure released on Thursday showed that prices are climbing at the fastest pace in 40 years and broadening to touch nearly every corner of the American economy, heightening the risk that they will stay elevated for longer and that policymakers may have to react more aggressively.Markets tumbled after the government released Consumer Price Index data for January, which showed prices jumping 7.5 percent over the year and 0.6 percent over the past month, exceeding forecasts. More worrying were the report’s details, which showed inflation moving beyond pandemic-affected goods and services, a sign that rapid gains could prove longer lasting and harder to shake off.Investors speculated that the hot inflation would spur a decisive reaction from the Federal Reserve — possibly a big interest rate increase at the central bank’s next gathering in March, though few Fed officials have signaled comfort with such a large move. Making money more expensive to borrow and spend could weigh on demand, slowing the economy and tamping down prices.Wall Street is now anticipating that interest rates could rise to more than 1.75 percent by the end of the year, up from near zero now, and the possibility of a more forceful Fed reaction sent a key bond yield above 2 percent for the first time since July 2019 and deflated stock prices.Most economists still believe inflation will cool by year’s end, as automobile prices climb at a more moderate pace and as supply chain problems hopefully ease. But high and widespread price increases portend trouble for a White House that is struggling to convince voters that the economy is strong, and for a Fed that looks increasingly at risk of falling behind the curve.“It was more than expected, and it was broad-based,” said Priya Misra, head of global rates strategy at TD Securities, adding that she now expects price gains to slow less drastically this year. “We’ve gotten used to these big headline numbers, but every aspect of ‘transitory’ you can push back against now.”Economists thought price gains would fade quickly in 2021 — making now-infamous predictions that inflation would prove “transitory” — only to have those projections proved wrong time and again as booming consumer demand for goods collided with roiled global supply chains that could not ramp up production fast enough.High inflation has been a political liability for the White House, as rising prices have eaten away at household paychecks, leaving consumers feeling pessimistic.Amir Hamja for The New York TimesLately, it is more than just shortages of goods at play. Price gains are increasingly hitting consumers in hard-to-avoid ways as they show up in necessities: January’s inflation reading was driven by food, electricity and shelter costs, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said.High and broadening inflation has become a political liability for President Biden, as rising prices eat away at household paychecks and detract from a strong labor market with solid wage growth. That has left consumers feeling pessimistic and has all but killed Mr. Biden’s chance to pass a sweeping climate and social policy bill given lawmaker concerns about rising prices.Understand Inflation in the U.S.Inflation 101: What is inflation, why is it up and whom does it hurt? Our guide explains it all.Your Questions, Answered: We asked readers to send questions about inflation. Top experts and economists weighed in.What’s to Blame: Did the stimulus cause prices to rise? Or did pandemic lockdowns and shortages lead to inflation? A debate is heating up in Washington.Supply Chain’s Role: A key factor in rising inflation is the continuing turmoil in the global supply chain. Here’s how the crisis unfolded.Ryan Sweet, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, estimated that inflation was costing the average household $276 a month, compared with a more normal rate of inflation, which had been hovering just around 2 percent before the pandemic.“While today is a reminder that Americans’ budgets are being stretched in ways that create real stress at the kitchen table, there are also signs that we will make it through this challenge,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. He emphasized that wages grew more quickly than prices last month — though in general they have not kept up with price gains over the past year.The White House has introduced policies that might help to ease inflation slightly — discussing plans to help place military veterans into the short-staffed trucking industry, for instance — but the Fed is primarily in charge of slowing down demand to keep prices under control. Fed officials have already shifted away from trying to foster a quick economic rebound and toward bringing inflation down. After Thursday’s report, investors expected the Fed to withdraw economic support even more quickly. Markets braced for a half-percentage-point increase in the federal funds rate at the central bank’s meeting next month — double the usual increment.The inflation reading sent stocks down and government bond yields up. The S&P 500 dropped 1.8 percent, while the Nasdaq composite fell 2.1 percent. The yield on 10-year U.S. Treasury notes rose 0.1 percentage points, to about 2.03 percent, the highest level since November 2019.James Bullard, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, fretted about the January inflation report in an interview with Bloomberg News and suggested that policymakers should be open to both a bigger-than-normal rate increase and to increasing rates in between officially scheduled meetings.“You have got the highest inflation in 40 years, and I think we are going to have to be far more nimble and far more reactive to data,” said Mr. Bullard, who has at times espoused bold stances that are not followed by his policymaking colleagues.The Fed generally moves borrowing costs in between meetings only at stressed moments and in emergencies, as was the case when it cut rates to zero between planned gatherings in March 2020.Inflation is abnormally high relative to the central bank’s goal: The Fed aims for 2 percent inflation on average over time, defining that target using a different but related inflation index that is also sharply elevated.And it increasingly appears to be driven less by the pandemic and more by a strong economy. Price increases in 2021 came heavily from roiled supply chains that sent new and used car prices and furniture costs up sharply. Those continue to be a big factor elevating overall inflation, but other areas are also fueling the rapid rise.

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    Year-over-year changes in the Consumer Price Index
    Not seasonally adjustedSource: Bureau of Labor StatisticsBy The New York TimesRent of a primary residence, which counts for a big chunk of overall inflation and tends to respond more to economic conditions than to one-off trends, climbed 0.5 percent in January from the prior month, a slight acceleration. Other shelter costs rose at a steady but notable pace.“Low vacancies and the end of rent moratoriums are expected to continue to push rents higher in the year ahead,” Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, wrote in a note after the release.As costs for shelter and other services pick up, policymakers are hoping that supply chains will start to catch up. That could allow prices for goods to moderate or even fall — taking pressure off overall inflation.Inflation F.A.Q.Card 1 of 6What is inflation? More

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    Car Prices Rose More Slowly In January, But New Disruptions Loom

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    Year-over-year changes in the Consumer Price Index
    Not seasonally adjustedSource: Bureau of Labor StatisticsBy The New York TimesWant an optimistic take on the troubling January inflation report? Look at what’s happening with cars.Want a pessimistic take? Look at what’s happening with cars.New-car prices have skyrocketed over the past year, rising 12.2 percent as supply-chain disruptions and other issues have made it hard for manufacturers to keep up with strong consumer demand. Used-car prices are up by a remarkable 40.5 percent. Those rapid price gains have been a big factor in overall inflation, accounting for close to a quarter of the one-year increase in the Consumer Price Index.Optimists, including White House officials, have pointed to car prices as evidence that the recent bout of high inflation is likely to prove short-lived. The car market has been disrupted by a confluence of unusual forces, most of them related to the pandemic. As those forces recede, auto production should return to normal, and prices should moderate, or perhaps fall outright.The data released on Thursday provided support for that narrative. New-car prices were flat in January compared with December. Used-car prices rose 1.5 percent, their slowest pace since September, and data on wholesale prices suggests that moderation is likely to continue. Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, wrote in a note to clients that he expects both new and used vehicle prices to fall in coming months, which would help bring down inflation overall.But a new development is threatening that progress. Protesters in Canada have blockaded some of the busiest routes linking Canada to the United States, disrupting supply chains of some of the biggest automakers. Ford, Toyota and General Motors have all had to pause production or reduce output at some plants as a result of the protests.It isn’t clear how long those disruptions will last, or how much of an impact they will have on auto supplies. But if they prevent the car market from returning to normal as quickly as expected, that could delay the moderation in inflation that economists had expected to see and that the Biden administration had been counting on. More

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    Inflation probably climbed at fastest pace in four decades in January.

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    Consumer Price Index data released on Thursday could show the biggest annual price increase since early 1982.A key inflation measure set for release Thursday morning is expected to show that prices continued to climb at the fastest pace in 40 years.But the data could also show some moderation in how much costs are going up each month — a potential silver lining as consumers wait for price pressures to lessen after a bruising year.Economists expect the Consumer Price Index data for January to show that prices climbed by 7.2 percent over the past year, up from 7 percent in December. That would be the fastest clip since February 1982.But prices are expected to have climbed 0.4 percent in January from the prior month. That is unusually rapid, but it is a moderation from the biggest monthly increases last year, which came in as high as 0.9 percent.Forecasters anticipate that inflation will ease meaningfully in 2022: Many expect it to finish the year closer to 3 percent. But economists regularly predicted that price gains would fade quickly in 2021, only to have those projections foiled as booming consumer demand for goods collided with roiled global supply chains that could not ramp up production fast enough.The recent spike in prices for food, fuel, cars and other goods has become a problem for both the Federal Reserve, which is responsible for keeping prices stable, and the White House, which has found itself on the defensive as rising costs eat away at household paychecks and detract from a strong labor market with solid wage growth.On Wednesday, Jen Psaki, the White House press secretary, tried to put a positive spin on the numbers, acknowledging that the data to be released Thursday would most likely show a high reading for the year but that the trajectory is for prices to decrease.“We expect a high year inflation rate reading in tomorrow’s data, given what we know about the last year,” Ms. Psaki said, adding that “it’s not about the recent trends.”“Inflation is expected to decrease over the course — and moderate — over the course of this year,” she said.Even so, the new data could add to the urgency for the Fed to begin weaning the economy off the rock-bottom interest rates that have been in place since March 2020.Fed officials have signaled that they will begin raising rates at their meeting next month. Higher rates can slow down consumer and business spending by making it more expensive to finance a car, house or machine purchase. Policymakers have also suggested that they will soon begin to shrink their balance sheet of bond holdings, which should push up longer-term interest borrowing costs and further cool off the economy.Investors now expect that central bankers might lift interest rates six times this year as they try to slow down the economy and tamp down price gains. More