US President Joe Biden. File photoWASHINGTON, Jun 10 US President Joe Biden once again tried to justify the acceleration of inflation by the conflict in Ukraine and the actions of Russian leader Vladimir Putin.
"Putin's price hike hit hard in May here and around the world. High petrol and food prices accounted for about half of the monthly price increases. Gasoline has risen in price by two dollars a gallon in many areas,» he said.
The American president added that Washington would continue to «help Ukraine» and work to reduce the cost of goods. In May, inflation in the United States accelerated to its highest since December 1981 — up to 8.6 percent from 8.3 percent a month earlier. The day before, Finance Minister Janet Yellen acknowledged that the sanctions imposed against Russia provoke an increase in food and fuel prices in the US market.In the United States, they attacked Biden's press secretary for the «worst statement in history» At the same time, the Bank of Russia lowered the country's inflation forecast for 2022 to 14-17 percent from 18-23 percent. The regulator considers the effectiveness of import substitution processes, as well as the scale and speed of the restoration of imports of finished goods, raw materials and components to be important factors for a further decrease in the indicator. After the start of a special military operation to denazify and demilitarize Ukraine, the West increased sanctions pressure on Moscow. Restrictive measures primarily affected the banking sector and high-tech products. Many brands announced their withdrawal from Russia. Moscow called such steps an economic war, noting that it was ready for such a scenario. The Central Bank is taking measures to stabilize the situation on the foreign exchange market, thanks to which the ruble has significantly strengthened against the dollar and the euro, breaking five-year highs. Russia also transferred payments for gas supplies to unfriendly countries into rubles. Another step to combat the impact of Western sanctions was the plan prepared by the government, which includes about a hundred initiatives. The volume of its financing will be about a trillion rubles.