The president of the United States said incorrectly that gasoline prices and eggs had fallen while housing sales were good.
The president of the United States, Donald Trump, said that housing, gasoline and prices of groceries are decreasing. However, current data does not fully admit any of these statements.
In the Oval office on Thursday, the president, when asked about housing sales and if it was an economic indicator that worries him, he said there were very good numbers in the house.
However, according to a report by the National Association of Real Estate Agents (NAR), to which the journalist who asked him the question, the sales of existing houses are moving at their slower pace since 2009, and they fell 5.9 percent in March a month earlier.
“The mobility of residential housing, currently in historical minimums, points out the problematic possibility of less economic mobility for society,” said Nar Lawrence Yun economist in a public statement.
Trump mentioned that energy prices have dropped to $ 1.98 in some states. Although he did not specify the type of energy, his comments closely reflected the comments he made last week. At that time, he cited gasoline prices specifically.
According to AAA, which monitors national gasoline prices, the lowest registered average was $ 2.70 per gallon ($ 0.71 per liter) last week in Mississippi. This week, Mississippi reported the lowest average price of gasoline again, but this time at $ 2.68 ($ 0.70 per liter). Gasbuddy data, which tracks prices in individual service stations, found that the prices of the lowest individual stations are $ 2.33 per gallon (0.62 per liter), even above the figure mentioned by the President.
The average national gasoline price is currently $ 3.17 per gallon ($ 0.84 per liter). While that reflects an increase of five cents compared to last month, it is a decrease of $ 3.60 ($ 0.95 per liter) at this time last year. The president correctly pointed out that gasoline prices are down, although not to the extent that he suggested.
According to the last report of the Labor Department, general energy prices decreased by 2.4 percent during the past month, largely due to the fall in gasoline prices. This decrease helped compensate for increases in natural gas and electricity costs. Oil prices have also generally decreased since Trump assumed the position, predominantly in the back of the economic uncertainties caused by Trump's tariff threats.
In his comments, Trump also declared that the prices of the groceries are decreasing. Recent data does not support this statement. According to the Labor Department, food prices increased by 0.4 percent from last month and rose 2.4 percent compared to the previous year. Price increases were observed in four out of six categories of main groceries.
The eggs, which according to the president had dropped in price, actually saw an increase of 5.9 percent last month. Year after year, egg prices rise more than 60 percent. The meat index increased by 1.2 percent, and dairy prices increased by 4 percent. However, fruits and vegetable prices decreased slightly, falling by 0.5 percent.
