The annualized rate of inflation last month was 7.1 percent, down from 7.7 percent in October in what may be seen as another indication that U.S. inflation has peaked after previously reaching an almost 40-year high.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI) rose by 0.1 percent month-on-month in another fall since October, when prices rose 0.4 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The monthly rise in September was also 0.4 percent and the annualized rate of inflation that month was 8.2 percent.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected inflation in November to be an annualized 7.3 percent with a month-on-month rate of 0.3 percent.
The figures will be welcome news for the White House as Americans prepare to celebrate the holidays and after mixed results in the November midterm elections.
Democrats managed to retain control of the Senate and while they lost the House of Representatives, Republicans have only a narrow majority to work with in the chamber.
An Edison Research exit poll conducted for CNN and other news networks on November 8 found that almost one-third of voters said that inflation was the issue that mattered most to them in deciding which House candidates to vote for, while more than seven in 10 of these voters opted for Republicans.
Biden has repeatedly touted the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, which is in part a revival of the president’s Build Back Better agenda that had previously failed to win Senate support after Democratic Senator Joe Manchin rejected it.
Before Americans celebrated the Thanksgiving holiday last month, Biden reiterated his pledge to tackle inflation. That came amid news reports about the rising cost of Thanksgiving dinner and significant criticism from Republican lawmakers.
“This holiday season, we’re seeing initial signs inflation is moderating. Folks are vaccinated. And our unemployment rate is near a 50-year low,” Biden tweeted on November 22.
While the fall in the annualized rate of inflation may be positive for Biden heading into the new year, inflation is still far ahead of the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent target.
The Fed begins a two-day meeting on Tuesday and the central bank is expected to announce a further rise in interest rates on Wednesday as part of its ongoing efforts to bring down inflation.
It will be the seventh-consecutive hike in interest rates this year. The Fed has raised interest rates by 75 basis points (0.75 percent) at its last four meetings, but Wednesday’s rise is expected to be smaller, after Chairman Jerome Powell said the pace would slow in December.
Newsweek has asked the White House for comment.
