Trump vows to keep cutting consumer prices

President Donald Trump pledged to continue lowering consumer prices after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the Consumer Price Index fell 0.4% in June, the largest one-month drop since April 2020. Egg prices rose 4.3% from May.

The June decline reflected a 5.7% drop in the energy index. The national average price for gasoline fell to about $3.86 per gallon from a May peak above $4.50. Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, was unchanged in June and up 2.6% from a year earlier. Headline CPI rose 3.5% over the past 12 months.

In a post, he wrote: “We will continue to bring Prices DOWN, just like Oil, Gas, Eggs, and Prescription Drugs, all of which are dropping FAST.” He has urged fuel retailers to lower pump prices and set a target around $2.50 per gallon. The administration highlighted temporary grocery price cuts on hundreds of commonly bought items through Labor Day.

Egg prices rose month-to-month as supplies recovered after an avian flu outbreak; eggs remain 27.9% below year-ago levels despite the June increase. Economists attribute the energy decline to moves in the global oil market as tensions in the Middle East eased in early summer, and they view the egg pattern as a normalization from earlier supply disruptions.

Market participants monitored the data for its potential effect on Federal Reserve policy, since cooler headline inflation readings can reduce pressure on the Fed to tighten monetary policy and influence asset prices. Policymakers, investors and consumers will watch July’s CPI report for signs that the June decline continues or reverses.