INFLATION UPTICK BEGAN BEFORE RUSSIA INVADED UKRAINE

Key Points:

  • Despite claims by the current administration that inflation is caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dubbed the “Putin Price Hike”, which was used as recently as June 22, data show the rise in prices began much earlier.
  • As the chart shows, there was an uptick in inflation starting in January of 2021, when Joe Biden was inaugurated. This reflected growing anticipation, by market participants, of the inflationary effects of the agenda that Democrats were likely to pass.
  • Then, there was then an acceleration when Democrats implemented their legislative agenda in March of 2021.
  • The inflation rate was 1.4% in January 2021 and had already reached 7.9% by February 2022 when Russia invaded Ukraine. Currently, the inflation rate has increased to 8.6% as of May 2022, a 40-year high.