Americans are being hit with soaring inflation due to Donald Trump’s war in Iran as prices rose 0.6 percent last month and are up 3.8 percent from a year ago.
The president and Republicans want to run on a strong economy heading into the midterm season, but the latest Consumer Price Index on Tuesday showed consumers are feeling the pain.
The higher prices have largely been driven by the skyrocketing cost of energy. Gasoline prices were up 5.4 percent in April and more than 28 percent from a year ago.
Oil was up 5.8 percent last month, a slower increase than in March, but it’s up more than 54 percent from this time last year. It’s unclear when Americans will see any relief at the pump.
The ongoing rise in costs has completely wiped out any wage gains Americans have made in the last year. Wages were up 3.6 percent.
The overall pace of inflation at 3.8 percent from a year ago was up from the annual rate set in March at 3.3 percent.
The White House responded to the latest economic data by posting about individual items where prices have come down, like for eggs.
However, last month Americans saw the overall price of food tick up 0.5 percent. The price of groceries and eating out are up more than 3 percent from a year ago. The cost of housing is also up 3.3 percent from a year ago, after inflation rose slightly by 0.6 percent last month.
As Americans struggle with higher gas prices heading into the summer vacation season, the cost of airline tickets also ticked up 2.8 percent in April, slightly more than the similar increase in March, as fuel costs soared.
On Monday, Trump had insisted gas prices would “drop like a rock” when his war ends, but he has struggled to reach any deal, blowing well past his initial timeline.
The president this week also said the ceasefire was on life support while speaking in the Oval Office to reporters after he rejected Iran’s latest offer.
With Americans feeling the pain at the pump, Trump indicated he supported temporarily suspending the 18-cent federal gas tax. But the measure would have to be passed through a deeply divided Congress.
An 18-cent cut would only provide minimal relief with the cost of gas up roughly $1.50 from a year ago. The national average for a gallon of gas is $4.50, while diesel is $5.63 a gallon, according to GasBuddy.com.
Trump insisted that the closing of the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping has come to a standstill due to the war, driving up prices, was actually “genius” on Monday. He suggested consumers were looking to the U.S. instead for oil.
But major American companies are not suddenly surging their efforts in the U.S., as they remain cautious about the president’s war.
