Yellen says US making ‘considerable progress’ reducing inflation

THE US is making “considerable progress” in bringing down inflation, which is especially notable given the labour market remains strong, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Monday (Nov 20).

The annual inflation rate, as measured by the government’s consumer price index, has dropped to 3.2 per cent in October from its 2022 peak of more than 9 per cent after the Federal Reserve embarked on an aggressive campaign of interest-rate increases to cool price pressures.

While prices aren’t rising as fast as they were last year, they are still increasing and many essential items remain much more costly than they were before the pandemic.  

“We’re making considerable progress in bringing inflation down, but Americans do notice higher prices from what they used to be accustomed to,” Yellen said in an interview on CNBC. “And importantly, we’re making this inflation progress while maintaining a strong economy and a strong labour market. So that’s good news for Americans.” BLOOMBERG