Biden administration officials on Thursday sought to downplay a possible jump in inflation — saying that a report due out Friday might not reflect the actions the administration has taken to reduce consumer prices and energy costs.

What You Need To Know

  • Biden administration officials on Thursday sought to downplay a jump in inflation, saying a report due out Friday may not reflect recent actions taken to reduce prices

  • Friday’s report will come on the heels of one from October which showed that consumer prices jumped 6.2% compared with a year prior, the fastest gain in more than three decades

  • President Joe Biden acknowledged that despite record job growth, the country has struggled with rising consumer prices and supply chain issues

  • Republicans have seized upon rising inflation in an effort to criticize the president's economic plans, but inflation is a complex global issue that cannot be solely blamed on the president

Friday’s report will come on the heels of one from October which showed that consumer prices jumped 6.2% compared with a year prior, the fastest gain in more than three decades.

In a statement released Thursday about weekly jobless claims — the lowest such figure in more than five decades — President Joe Biden acknowledged that while the country’s jobs recovery “is one of the strongest ever,” the country has also struggled with rising consumer prices and supply chain issues.

“Even as we’ve built this incredible jobs and economic recovery, we have struggled – like virtually every other developed economy dealing with the pandemic – with rising prices and supply chain woes," Biden wrote, adding: "Tomorrow, we will get a report on consumer prices that experts expect to be elevated again, driven in part by energy prices and used car prices."

"Fortunately, in the weeks since the data for tomorrow’s inflation report was collected, energy prices have dropped," Biden continued. "The price of gas at the pump has already begun to fall nationally, and real pump prices in 20 states are now lower than the 20 year average. This week, natural gas prices are down more than 25% from their November average. In recent weeks, we are also beginning to see a decline in used car prices on the wholesale market which should translate into lower prices for Americans in the months ahead."

The current average price for a regular gallon of gas is $3.33, according to the American Automobile Association, down nearly ten cents from a month ago, but much higher than last year.

Republicans have seized upon inflation in an effort to criticize the president's economic plans, signaling their strategy for the 2022 midterm elections. The president's poll numbers have suffered in recent weeks, in part due to rising inflation. However, inflation is a complex, global issue, and not one that can be solely blamed on the president.

Brian Deese, the president's chief economic adviser, joined a White House press briefing on Thursday to tout "encouraging signs" in recent jobs reports while bracing for Friday's report.

"Labor force participation has stayed steady ... which suggests that people are coming back into the labor market," Deese said.

"Because of the strength of our economic recovery, the strength of our labor market and the strength of wage increases ... the labor market and the support we've provided over the course of the year, people are better positioned today to deal with" inflationary challenges, Deese said Thursday.

"That data is by definition backward-looking and so it won't capture some recent price movements, particularly in the areas of energy," Deese added.

Deese, the Director of the National Economic Council, pointed to drops in energy prices, particularly gasoline, in recent weeks.

"We've seen gas prices come down," Deese said. "We've seen natural gas prices come down, we've seen we've seen real progress on sticking some of the supply chain bottlenecks that have been that persisted in our economy."

Deese pledged that the Biden administration needs to do "everything that we can to address [price increases] directly."

Biden called for Congress to pass his Build Back Better agenda, which he says will help lower costs for Americans and address inflation.

"The information being released tomorrow on energy in November does not reflect today’s reality, and it does not reflect the expected price decreases in the weeks and months ahead, such as in the auto market," Biden said in his statement. "We need to focus on concrete actions we can take to address elevated prices and to lower costs for American families – including by lowering prescription drug costs, health care costs, childcare costs and housing costs with my Build Back Better plan."