New data released by The Bureau of Labor reveals that inflation has now hit a new 40-year high. According to government data, inflation in February hit 7.9%. This was an increase from the previous month (7.5% in January).
Financial experts warn that more bad news is on the horizon as these numbers are not fully reflective of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Robert Schein, the chief investment officer of Blanke Schein Wealth Management released a statement saying “Thursday’s inflation data is continued confirmation that inflation is not transitory and has not peaked. [This] data is for February, which does not account for the early March spike in oil prices. We believe there will be even stronger inflation reports over the coming months, which suggests that the Federal Reserve needs to accelerate its rate hike plans, even with the renewed uncertainty that has emerged from the crisis in Russia and Ukraine.”
To the contrary, President Biden released a statement following the new inflation numbers. “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. A large contributor to inflation this month was an increase in gas and energy prices as markets reacted to Putin’s aggressive actions. As I have said from the start, there will be costs at home as we impose crippling sanctions in response to Putin’s unprovoked war, but Americans can know this: the costs we are imposing on Putin and his cronies are far more devastating than the costs we are facing.”
Additional information you should know:
🔴Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th.
🔵Russia is the third-largest oil producer in the world. 8-10% of oil imports to the United States were from Russia prior to a ban on Russian oil.
Crude oil prices have been on the rise this entire year. On February 28th crude oil prices began to increase more than usual, with the highest spike occurring between 3/4/22-3/6/22. Financial experts point to the invasion of Ukraine.
