As inflation numbers fall, consumers are still concerned over high prices

While inflation has fallen a bit, according to government numbers, consumers are still voicing concerns about high prices they’re facing every day.
When the U.S. Federal Reserve gathers for its next meeting, it’s possible the central bank will cut the short term interest rate another 25 basis points. However, itt’s still unclear how aggressive the central bank will be in cutting rates more as we head into 2025.
William Emmons is an adjunct lecturer at Olin Business School at Washington University. He says what we’ve seen in the news doesn’t suggest a full picture of what Americans are facing when it comes to their buying power.
“These headlines are just averages, that’s a part of it,” he said. “Older consumers, rural and younger consumers who are more urban have different consumption baskets.”
Emmons is a former economist for the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. He says the people who are struggling from higher prices are verbalizing that more while the people who benefiting from lower prices in some cases might not be off setting that outrage as completely — in order to give a truer picture of what the economy is doing.
As the 2024 U.S. presidential election approaches, economists say there will be differences in how the U.S. economy reacts to each candidate’s policies.
Emmons says there are signals that the current economic policies of both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump could spark at least a little bit of inflationary bias in the U.S. economy.