Damascus-SANA
The American economy is going through a state of stagnation and inflation, the largest in its history in decades, and instead of taking measures to revive it, Washington is rushing to impose packages of economic sanctions on Moscow, ignoring the dire repercussions on the Americans themselves.
The month of February was the worst economically for Americans, as gasoline, food and housing prices continued to rise, and the main inflation measure reached a level not seen since December 1982, with expectations of a further rise in the coming days.
And the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on the eleventh of this month that the consumer price index, which measures the basket of goods and services, jumped by 7.9 percent during the 12-month period that ended last February, indicating that the inflation measure rose by 0.8 percent in February alone due to the rise in petroleum and food costs. Which does not bode well for inflation figures for the month of March.
Experts expect that the sanctions imposed by the United States on Russia will raise the inflation rate through a significant acceleration in the rise in the prices of energy, food and basic commodities due to the exacerbation of supply chain problems.
Each increase of ten dollars in the price of oil will cause a decline in US economic growth by 0.1% and an increase in inflation by 0.2%, according to the estimates of Jerome Powell, President of the US Federal Reserve, who also confirmed that if inflation readings showed a need to increase interest rates at a faster pace, they would be raised, during his testimony early this month. Before Congress to comment on the expected repercussions in light of the continuing crisis in Ukraine.
On Wednesday, the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 25 basis points for the first time since the end of 2018, starting a series of additional increases that are expected to reach a range between 1.75 percent and 2 percent by the end of the year with the aim of preventing the economy from overheating and reducing inflation, which reached its highest levels since Four decades, this move is expected to have wide-ranging repercussions. By raising interest rates, the Federal Reserve will make borrowing more expensive for American families and companies, and for governments around the world. The high level of debt denominated in dollars faces a lot of risks that could destroy their economies.
The American newspaper “The Hill” stressed that Americans should not expect any economic breakthrough soon, and that the policies of the administration of US President Joe Biden and its promises to reduce energy prices are just promises, and that Americans, not the elite class, should deal with the consequences of that, attributing the inflation that occurs to Biden’s inability to take economic measures. And that the Russian special operation in Ukraine is not the reason for the rise in fuel prices, as it is claimed, the United States was heading towards this rise in any case, and that the increase in energy prices is the design and planning of the Democratic Party.
Statistics show that the class most affected by the inflation is the classes that receive the minimum wage, which will witness a decrease of 2% in the coming months, which will lead to an increase in the number of the poor and an expansion of the wealth gap between them and the rich.
Mervat Saeed
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