President Joe Biden is blaming "[Vladimir] Putin's price hike" for soaring inflation.
Pushed by the skyrocketing cost for gas, housing and food, inflation rose 7.9% over the past year, The Associated Press reported. It is the sharpest hike since 1982.
The increase reported Thursday by the Labor Department reflected the 12 months ending in February. But it didn’t include most of the oil and gas price increases that followed Russia's invasion of Ukraine, The AP said.
Since the Feb. 24th invasion, average gas prices nationally have jumped about 62 cents a gallon to $4.32, according to AP, which attributed the information to the American Automobile Association.
"Today's inflation report is a reminder that Americans' budgets are being stretched by price increases, and families are starting to feel the impacts of Putin's price hike," Biden said Thursday in a statement. "A large contributor to inflation this month was an increase in gas and energy prices as markets reacted to Putin's aggressive actions.
"As I have said from the start, there will be costs at home as we impose crippling sanctions in response to Putin's unprovoked war, but Americans can know this: The costs we are imposing on Putin and his cronies are far more devastating than the costs we are facing. I know that higher prices impact a family's budget, which is why I am fighting to bring down the everyday prices that are squeezing Americans."
On Tuesday, Biden announced the U.S. is "targeting the main artery of Russia's economy" by banning imports of Russian oil. And he noted: "I'm going to do everything I can to minimize Putin’s price hike here at home."
Jeffrey Rodack ✉
Jeffrey Rodack, who has nearly a half century in news as a senior editor and city editor for national and local publications, has covered politics for Newsmax for nearly seven years.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.