In the US, consumer prices rose 8.6 percent year-on-year – the highest level since December 1981. US President Biden has promised to bring prices down.

The inflation rate in the US climbed to its highest level in more than 40 years in May. Consumer prices rose 8.6 percent year-on-year, the Department of Labor said in Washington on Friday. This is the highest level since December 1981. Economists, on the other hand, had expected an unchanged inflation rate of 8.3 percent.

US President Joe Biden, in a speech in the port of Los Angeles, said he understood Americans’ concerns about rising prices. Biden promised he would do everything in his power to bring prices down. In terms of economic policy, inflation is his top priority.

The US dollar and capital market interest rates in the US rose in a first reaction to the new numbers. This suggests that the financial markets are expecting further and significant interest rate hikes by the US Federal Reserve. The Fed is likely to raise interest rates again by 0.5 percentage points next week.