NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (Xinhua) -- Wednesday's consumer price index report showed that inflation is punching back in the United States, and U.S. President Donald Trump could end up facing the same challenges that dragged down his predecessor, former President Joe Biden, reported The Associated Press (AP) on Thursday.
"The annual inflation rate has risen in the three months since the November election to 3 percent, with gasoline prices climbing despite Trump's claims that his return to the White House would signal increased oil production that would lower energy costs," noted the report.
"Trump frequently makes far-reaching assertions about his power to bring about change only to find that it is no match for market forces," said the report. "It's a humbling reminder that even U.S. presidents are subject to the invisible hand of supply and demand, rather than the masters of it."
Consumer sentiment measures suggest the public already sees Trump's plans to expand tariffs as increasing inflation. The latest consumer price figures have unnerved economists and the financial markets because they suggest that strong consumer spending, solid job gains and a falling unemployment rate could reignite inflation, it added.
