Consumers feel pinch of rising prices

Middle class finds inflation challenging, cuts down spending on food, groceries

A growing number of middle-class US people say they are finding it challenging to cope with inflation. The price increases have led them to cut spending in order to afford food, gas and groceries.

"My grocery bill went from $150 for two weeks to $250," Claire, 34, of New York, who declined to give her surname, told China Daily. "It's awful. It's absolutely enough.

"I think everybody who has the power to fix it is benefiting from it. So, they're making us think they're trying to fix it, but they're not," she said.

Inflation jumped to 3 percent in January and is picking up again. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5 percent last month, the biggest gain since August 2023 on goods and services, up from 0.4 in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For many shoppers, groceries are now among their biggest expenses.

Food prices climbed 0.4 percent, and grocery store prices rose 0.5 percent, CPI data showed. Prices will likely remain high, as wholesale food prices are elevated.

"BIDEN INFLATION UP!" US President Donald Trump posted on Truth Social after the January inflation figures came out, blaming his predecessor, Joe Biden. Trump took office on Jan 20.

The reasons for the persistent inflation and high cost of goods are varied, say analysts. Some businesses may have "preemptively raised prices in anticipation of higher and broader tariffs on imported goods", Reuters reported.

Trump's current tariffs include 10 percent on all Chinese goods and across-the-board tariffs on steel and aluminum. While his proposed 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada were put on hold on Feb 3, they are scheduled to take effect in March, he confirmed.

Mexico sent 63 percent of its vegetable exports to the United States, and 47 percent of its fruit and nut exports, according to US Department of Agriculture data.

"The high prices in stores and in general are almost burdensome," said Arnold Pri, 55, a financial adviser from Brooklyn, New York. "I think a lot of families are experiencing hardship due to the high price of eggs, and the high price of gas. They have to do something. It's just whether this administration can fix it.

"I'm coping. But you know, you're pulling back on discretionary spending. I graduated with a bachelor's in economics, so I understand the impact of tariffs, and that it is inflationary. I think that (the government) believes that the benefit of the revenue that they receive will offset it. And I'm not quite sure that's going to be the case."

US Vice-President JD Vance urged consumers to be patient, telling CBS News that "Rome wasn't built in a day", adding that "consumers are going to see lower prices at the pump and at the grocery store, but it's going to take a little bit of time".

A reduction in prices can't come soon enough for Duke Stewart, 45, from Brooklyn, New York, who said the cost of food is "crazy right now".

"Everything is going up, especially food," Stewart said. "I used to spend more money on clothes and things like that, but now I spend more on food. I want the prices to come down. Not sure what they can do."

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index for February released on Tuesday fell to 98.3 — the largest monthly decline since August 2021. The University of Michigan's February survey showed consumer sentiment declined in February, down 10 percent from January.

The president's overall plan to tackle inflation involves cutting taxes, weeding out waste with the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, and increasing oil-drilling leases.

belindarobinson@chinadailyusa.com