US President Donald Trump said he is not worried about the acceleration of inflation in the country, after new data showed that the consumer price index reached 4.2 percent on an annual basis in May - the highest level in three years, CNBC reported, BTA reported.
“No, I love it, the data was great“, Trump said in the Oval Office in response to a question about whether he was concerned about the rise in inflation.
“You know what I really love? I love inflation. Do you know why?“, he added.
The US president linked inflation to oil prices and the conflict with Iran.
“Because as soon as this war is over, I can say it now... you know we took out millions of barrels of oil“, Trump said.
“Nobody knows that. You know who doesn't? Iran, so far," he said.
He said the US had withdrawn significant amounts of oil by sea after strikes on Iranian infrastructure.
“We took out 22 ships that night, late at night, with no lights, because they had no radar, because we blew them to pieces,“ Trump said.
“That's why oil is $85 a barrel,“ he added.
Inflation data released today showed that consumer prices in the US rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in May. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy prices, rose to 2.9 percent, in line with economists' expectations.
Just a few days ago, Trump again spoke out against raising interest rates by the Federal Reserve, putting further public pressure on the institution's newly appointed president, Kevin Warsh, BTA recalls. The comment came amid heightened market expectations for a further tightening of monetary policy after stronger-than-expected data on the US labor market. According to a report published on Friday, the US economy added 172,000 nonfarm payrolls in May, while the unemployment rate remained at 4.3 percent. The data sparked a sell-off in the bond market and almost fully priced in expectations for a 0.25 percentage point rate hike by the end of the year.