Prices Dropped Last Month; Democrats Most Hurt
In a clear win for President Trump’s economic agenda, wholesale prices in the U.S. unexpectedly fell in April — defying forecasts and undercutting doomsday predictions about his tariff policies.
According to new data from the U.S. Labor Department, the Producer Price Index — a key measure of inflation before it reaches consumers — dropped 0.5% from March. Not only was that the first monthly decline since October 2023, it was also the sharpest drop in five years. On a year-over-year basis, wholesale inflation slowed to 2.4%, down from 3.4% the month before.
Economists had predicted that Trump’s tariffs would drive up prices. Oops. So much for that prediction. But, wait, let’s not let the failure of left-leaning economists and media personalities get in the way of the narrative they want to push. In the same way that the Biden administration redefined “recession” to pretend that the Biden economy wasn’t in one, the media is kicking the can down the road, postponing the time they claim that tariffs are going to send us into an economic apocalypse.
Economists have predicted that Trump’s tariffs would drive up prices, and many expect the impact to show up in June or July.
Still, Trump’s tariffs are ever-changing, so it’s hard to forecast their economic impact. On Monday, for instance, Trump unexpectedly agreed to a massive de-escalation of his trade war with China — third-biggest source of U.S. imports — by scaling back his taxes on Chinese products to 30% from 145%; China slashed its retaliatory tariffs on U.S. products from 125% to 10%.
Do you see what they did there? The United States and China agree to scale back tariffs as they continue negotiations, but it’s Trump who backed down? Give me a break.
Of course, the bigger problem the media has right now is that they don’t want you to know about how prices are going down. So, naturally, on the same day that the Labor Department released this new data, ABC News published a report focusing on the prices of good that, they say, are “still soaring.”
Inflation cooled in the aftermath of President Donald Trump's "Liberation Day" levies last month, dropping to a four-year low and defying fears of tariff-driven price hikes, government data this week showed.
Even egg prices -- a symbol of rising costs -- fell about 10% in April compared to the previous month.
Still, prices for some products continued to soar, including everyday items such as coffee and beef.
It's normal for some prices to rise at a much faster pace than overall inflation, said Omar Sharif, founder and president of research firm Inflation Insights. The impact, he added, depends on the role such items play in a given person's finances.
"At the end of the day, what's important is the weight of the price change in your budget," Sharif said, noting stubborn price hikes for some goods may be offset by price drops for others.
It’s the same broken playbook: the media that gaslit the country into believing prices were “going down” under Biden while Americans were getting crushed at the checkout line is now trying to convince us inflation and prices are soaring under Trump—just as prices are falling. They weren’t honest then, and they’re not honest now. But the numbers don’t lie—only they do.