Grocery prices are now rising at the fastest pace since 2022, according to Axios — with President Donald Trump's tariffs being a key driver of the resurgence of high inflation.
"The food-at-home component of the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6% in August from July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said on Thursday," said the report. This shift marked "the biggest month-over-month increase since August 2022, the tail end of a year of huge monthly increases in grocery prices."
This has thrown a wrench in the pricing strategy of key grocers around the country, who have reacted to public anger over years of inflation by trying to bring prices down.
"Retailers including Walmart have said they have had to increase some prices," said the report. "Kroger CFO David Kennerley said Thursday that the chain's approach is to 'raise prices as a last resort, to ensure that we keep prices as low as possible.' Interim CEO Ron Sargent said they've lowered prices on more than 3,500 products across stores, which is 'improving our price spreads against our major competitors.'"
Recent polling numbers have shown Trump's trust on the economy, and particularly on prices and cost of living, have dropped to record lows, close to where former President Joe Biden — whose presidency is widely seen to have been sunk by the inflation issue — was at his low points.
Trump has at many points responded to bad grocery inflation numbers by simply lying about them.
The president imposed a sweeping regime of what he called "reciprocal tariffs" on every country in the world several months ago, with the intention of reducing trade deficits and spurring domestic production — although many of the worst tariffs were delayed several times due to the alarm of business leaders, and the Supreme Court is gearing up to hear a case that could strip Trump of the power to unilaterally declare tariffs altogether.