BERMAN: “All right, breaking just moments ago, brand new numbers on inflation. Let’s bring in CNN’s Matt Egan, because this one’s a little confusing. When I look at the top line, I’m like, ‘Oh, people aren’t going to like this.’“
EGAN: “Yeah, John, this is a confusing report. There’s some good news, some bad news. There’s a little something for everyone. Let’s start with the bad news, 2.9 percent. That’s the annual inflation rate. This was hotter than expected. It’s the third straight month where this number has gone up further away from that 2 percent goal. And this is the highest since July. Also, the monthly number was a little bit hotter than expected. When we look at the trend, you can see that, yes, there’s been a lot of progress from the nightmare of two and a half years ago, and yet some of that progress has started to unwind and stall out in the last few months. Now, you can see it right here. You see it’s starting to tick a little —”
BERMAN: “Yeah.”
EGAN: “— bit higher. That’s not what you want to see. But there is some good news. And I think this is why the market is reacting very positively. Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, that actually cooled off. So look at this. We see Dow Futures up almost 700 points. The NASDAQ Futures up almost 2 percent, and that’s because the bond market liked those core numbers. Interest rates went down in the market because a lot of people were on the edge, and that is why the stock market is set to open sharply higher today. And we look at some of the categories here that people are spending. There were some numbers that people are not going to like, right? I mean, restaurant prices are up significantly, more than 3 percent from a year ago. Shelter — that’s rent — I mean, that continues to be a major problem. And energy as well. This is more electricity, natural gas prices. And listen, when we talk about inflation, we think about — we talk about the rate of inflation, how much prices are going up? But what people care about, what all the viewers care about is the level of prices. And no doubt, people are spending a lot more. Look at this, almost $1,200 more for the same goods and services than they were back in January 2021, all because prices are higher, John.”
BERMAN: “All right, Matt. Thank you so much for explaining that. Some mixed signals —”
EGAN: “Yes.”
BERMAN: “— we’re getting from the market this morning. Appreciate it.”
EGAN: “Thanks, John.”