Biden Economist Admits U.S. Could Experience Elevated Inflation Through Mid-2022

A Biden administration Member of the Council of Economic Advisers  admits that the United States could experience higher-than-normal inflation well into the next year.

Fox Business reports:

Jared Bernstein told FOX Business he sees inflation ending around 4% this year but settling back down to 2.3% in 2022. The catch: He cannot say when that will happen and believes we might see elevated inflation into the middle of next year.

For Bernstein, the number-one issue causing prices to rise is the supply chain disruptions that have plagued businesses. He believes once that sorts itself out, inflation will subside. Bernstein adds the supply chain issues seem to be more troublesome than first thought and are taking longer than anticipated.

Bernstein’s remarks come as inflation accelerated in August due to shortages in a many consumer goods and services driving up prices. The Personal Consumption Price Index rose 4.3 percent for the month from a year ago, according to data published by the Department of Commerce on Friday. The increase represented the fastest pace of inflation in over 30 years. Namely, food prices climbed by 2.8 percent, while services prices spiked 3.6 percent.

It’s “frustrating to see the bottlenecks and supply chain problems not getting better — in fact at the margins apparently getting a little bit worse,” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said during a panel discussion organized by the European Central Bank Wednesday.

“We see that continuing into next year probably, and holding up inflation longer than we had thought,” he added.