Kevin Hassett, Director of the White House National Economic Council, Joins ‘Varney & Co.’ to discuss the November CPI report, tax refunds, an expected White House announcement on housing reform and more.
White House National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett praised Thursday’s figures consumer price index (CPI) report.which showed that inflation rose less than expected.
“It was just an absolute blockbuster report,” Hassett told “Varney & Co.”
“Before the numbers come out, we look at the predictions of everyone we can find on Bloomberg. We looked at 61 predictions, and this number beat all of them,” he added.
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Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, outside the White House in Washington, DC, on Wednesday, December 10. (Aaron Schwartz/CNP/Bloomberg/Getty Images/Getty Images)
Hassett went further and delved into the short-term trajectory. He added that core inflation, averaged over the past three months and on an annual basis, is just 1.6%, which he said reflects the success of the Trump administration’s efforts to increase aggregate supply and lower prices.
“We have high growthand we have core inflation of 1.6% if you look at the last quarter, and I think that’s about where we should be,” he said.
The US added 64,000 jobs in November after losing 105,000 jobs in October, a delayed jobs report shows
A customer shops at a Safeway store on June 11, 2024 in Mill Valley, California. Consumers continue to feel the pressure of inflation as the November 2025 CPI report shows food prices costing 2.6% more than a year ago. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“And remember, that’s where we were last time during President Trump’s first term. We grew around 3%, and we had inflation around 1%, and it looks like we’re back there,” he said.
“I’m not saying we’re going to declare victory on the price problem yet, but this is just an astonishingly good CPI report,” he added.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Thursday that the CPI, a broad measure of the cost of everyday goods such as gasoline, groceries and rent, rose 0.2% in the two months from September to November, up from an annual rate of 2.7%.
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Barron’s Investor Circle newsletter editor Josh Schafer discusses what to expect from November’s delayed jobs and inflation reports on ‘Varney & Co.’
Both figures were cooler than expectations from economists polled by LSEG, who forecast a 0.3% monthly increase and a 3.1% annual rate.
Core prices, which exclude volatile measures of gasoline and food to better assess price growth trends, rose 0.3% from the previous month and 2.6% year-on-year, a figure in line with economists’ expectations.
However, consumers are still feeling the price drops as the report indicates that food costs increased by 2.6% compared to a year ago. Other areas, such as energy, transportation and housing, are also higher than a year ago, according to the report.
