CNN Reporter Amazed Food, Gas Prices Tame Under Trump

CNN business reporter Vanessa Yurkevich seemed to express amazement on Tuesday about tame energy and food prices in July under President Donald Trump’s administration.

The consumer price index (CPI), a broad measure of the prices of everyday goods, increased a seasonally-adjusted 0.2% in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported on Tuesday. On “CNN News Central,” Yurkevich appeared impressed that energy prices decreased, while the food index did not increase and the food at home index slightly decreased.

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“A tamer inflation report, despite President Trump’s tariffs. This is better than expected. Month over month, as you mentioned, up 0.2%. On an annual basis, up 2.7% in July,” Yurkevich said. “That’s also what we saw on an annual basis for the month of June. When you look at the key categories that we always look at — energy, food and shelter — energy fell by 1.1%. That was largely driven because of gas prices falling in the month of July by 2.2%.”

“Look at that food! I mean, this is where people spend their money, right? Food, every single day. Food flat, 0%, and actually down at the grocery store by 0.1%,” she continued. “And then shelter. We always usually see an increase because that is what people are paying on rent. And we know that rents are rising. That is usually the biggest share of this report.”

Despite many economists forecasting that Trump’s sweeping tariffs would cause a spike in inflation, it has yet to transpire. The stock market has also soared to record highs, while manufacturing output rose 0.1% in June after an upwardly revised 0.3% increase in May, the Federal Reserve Board reported on July 16.

However, job growth has slowed as the BLS reported on August 1 that the U.S. economy added only 73,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in July.