--- title: Inflation Dropped Again In June. What That Means for Biden description: Inflation data shows prices are returning closer to normal levels and that wage growth is significantly above inflation for the first time in over 2 years. canonical: https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2023-07-12T14:07:12.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:51:05.678Z article:section: Politics og:title: Inflation Dropped Again In June. Here's What That Means for Biden og:description: New data offers some of the most hopeful news about the economy since prices skyrocketed 16 months ago. og:url: https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792ce9b412c62448/698a3e92096a9401026adec6/GettyImages-1509305099.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: President Biden Delivers Remarks At Flex LTD In West Columbia, South Carolina og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Inflation Dropped Again In June. Here's What That Means for Biden twitter:description: New data offers some of the most hopeful news about the economy since prices skyrocketed 16 months ago. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792ce9b412c62448/698a3e92096a9401026adec6/GettyImages-1509305099.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Inflation Dropped Again In June. Here's What That Means for Biden > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c442a895-e92b-4460-bd3b-3080ac4d8def&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | TIME, August 2026 | | Subscribers | 85,000 | TIME, August 2026 | | Open rate | 37.0% | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=c442a895-e92b-4460-bd3b-3080ac4d8def&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=c442a895-e92b-4460-bd3b-3080ac4d8def&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. It reaches 85,000 subscribers with a 37.0% open rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Biden Meets with NATO Summit Host Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda [Watch (HLS stream): Biden Meets with NATO Summit Host Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qikC3Qdi.m3u8) (1:11)  _Published 2023-07-11. NATO’s 31 member states assembled on Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the defense alliance’s annual summit. But the biggest news of this year’s NATO summit may be what took place in the lead up to it._  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Jul 12, 2023 2:07 PM UTC  President Joe Biden speaks about his economic plan at the Flex LTD manufacturing plant on July 6, 2023 in West Columbia, South Carolina. President Joe Biden speaks about his economic plan at the Flex LTD manufacturing plant on July 6, 2023 in West Columbia, South Carolina. Sean Rayford—Getty Images  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Jul 12, 2023 2:07 PM UTC Inflation data released on Wednesday shows that price increases are returning closer to normal levels and that wage growth is significantly above inflation for the first time in over two years, offering some of the most hopeful news about the economy since prices skyrocketed 16 months ago. The Consumer Price Index, which tracks inflation, rose 3% in the year through June, less than the 4% increase in the year through May and down considerably from its roughly 9% peak last summer, signaling that the Federal Reserve may pause interest rate hikes later this fall on the heels of stronger-than-anticipated economic conditions. President Joe Biden celebrated Wednesday’s report, pointing to steps his Administration has taken to tackle costs while creating new jobs. “Our progress creating jobs while lowering costs for families is no accident, and I will continue to fight for lower costs for families every day,” he said in a statement. “I ran for office to grow the economy from the middle out and bottom up, not the top down: that’s exactly what we’re doing.” For Biden, any positive data about the economy could help his reelection bid. Poll numbers show that most people remain skeptical of his economic policy, with 56% of Americans saying they disapprove of Biden’s handling of the economy, according to a June [Yahoo-YouGov poll](https://www.realclearpolitics.com/docs/2023/654559950-20230620-Trumppol-Tabs.pdf). Persistent inflation has been one of the main sticking points in the public’s perception of his presidency. --- ### More from TIME --- Winning the economic debate may be Biden’s most important political objective as he enters [the 2024 race](https://time.com/6256382/who-is-running-for-president-2024/). Democrats know that their chances of keeping the White House largely hinge on the economy and are severely diminished if voters see the Republican nominee as more capable and trusted on the issue. “Whoever the Republican nominee for president is, they should litigate Biden’s record on the economy,” says Robert Blizzard, a veteran GOP pollster. “It’s a very strong-point winning issue for Republicans. You can look back at the 2022 midterms, and Republicans still did very well because there’s so much frustration about the economy.” In recent weeks, [Biden has been rolling out his economic pitch](https://time.com/6292925/joe-biden-economy-election-2024/) to Americans. It started with a speech in Chicago on June 28 where he branded his policies as “Bidenomics” and positioned them in opposition to trickle-down “Reaganomics.” Since then, Biden and his cabinet have been on a tour across the country to make their case to voters. In all, the economy has added more than 13 million jobs since Biden took office. The unemployment rate, at 3.6%, is near longtime lows as employers are hiring hundreds of thousands of new workers each month. One popular gauge of the economy’s strength—the “misery index,” which adds together the unemployment and inflation rates—is lower now than it’s been during 83% of all months since 1978\. **Read More:** [_How 10-Day Semiconductor Training Programs Could Blunt a Possible Worker Shortage_](https://time.com/6289816/biden-chips-workforce-training/) Yet polls show Americans believe the economic outlook to be grimmer than these stats suggest. Economists say it may take time for changes in inflation or economic policy to feed through to the economy and impact public perception. Although inflation has been falling for nearly a year, the process has been gradual and many individual prices still remain considerably higher than they were when Biden took office. For instance, the price of gasoline, which soared in 2022 after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, is still around $3.55 a gallon. That is well below last year’s peak of $5.10 a gallon, but higher than the $2.50 a gallon cost in January 2021 when Biden took office. The price of eggs is another example. A dozen eggs that cost $1.47 when Biden took office now cost $2.20, though that price has significantly fallen from the $4.82 it cost in January. The White House is hoping the public will start to take notice. In a recent Economist/YouGov poll, 75% of respondents said that inflation was a very important issue to them, compared with 68% who said the same thing about health care, 51% for immigration, and 50% for [abortion](https://time.com/6288526/abortion-laws-map-2023-dobbs-anniversary/), suggesting that the economy will be the most central issue to Biden’s re-election campaign. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/"},"headline":"Inflation Dropped Again In June. Here's What That Means for Biden","datePublished":"2023-07-12T14:07:12.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:51:05.678Z","description":"New data offers some of the most hopeful news about the economy since prices skyrocketed 16 months ago.","url":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/","keywords":["Economy","News","uspoliticspolicy","2030 Economy"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792ce9b412c62448/698a3e92096a9401026adec6/GettyImages-1509305099.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt792ce9b412c62448/698a3e92096a9401026adec6/GettyImages-1509305099.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"President Biden Delivers Remarks At Flex LTD In West Columbia, South Carolina","caption":"President Biden Delivers Remarks At Flex LTD In West Columbia, South Carolina","creditText":"Sean Rayford—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/economy/","name":"Economy"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/","name":"Inflation Dropped Again In June. Here's What That Means for Biden"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Biden Meets with NATO Summit Host Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda","description":"NATO’s 31 member states assembled on Tuesday in Vilnius, Lithuania, for the defense alliance’s annual summit. But the biggest news of this year’s NATO summit may be what took place in the lead up to it.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/qikC3Qdi/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2023-07-11T16:58:02.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/qikC3Qdi.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/","duration":"PT1M11S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6294014/inflation-dropped-june-biden/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```