CNN’s global economic analyst Rana Foroohar said Thursday Americans are in a better financial shape “than they have been in a while” while praising Thursday’s inflation report.
Inflation rose 0.4% on a monthly basis in October while the annual inflation rate fell slightly to 7.7%, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The data was welcomed by economists who originally predicted inflation would grow 0.6% on a monthly basis and 7.9% on an annual basis.
Foroohar said that while inflation was a driving factor for voters, Americans are actually in better financial shape than they were in recent months.
“Inflation has been the major issue for this administration and Americans. The fact it’s coming down means, A: the Fed rate hikes are working and, B: you’ve got a clearer political environment going forward, at least for Democrats,” Foroohar said.
“Just to bring in the midterm elections from yesterday, I was really fascinated that inflation was an issue for sure, but it was not the only issue. It didn’t play as the lone economic issue and I think that speaks to the fact that Americans’ balance sheets are in better condition than they have been in a while in part because of some of the build up that happened during COVID with savings.” (RELATED: More Americans Can’t Afford Their Car Payments In Biden’s Economy, Analysts Say)
A Morning Consult/Politico poll taken prior to the election found 93% of voters were concerned with inflation.
Food prices were up 10.9% on an annual basis in October. Core inflation, which measures inflation minus the prices of food and energy, increased 0.3% on a monthly basis but came down in October to 6.3% on an annual basis from September’s 40-year-high of 6.6%.