How It Started vs. How It's Going: Prices of eggs, milk, steak up since Biden took office

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The Piper Sandler managing director and senior economist weighs in on Fed Chair Jerome Powell's comments on rate cuts, discusses consumer spending and reacts to the jobless claims number.

Economic reports continue to show that inflation is coming down from the painful peaks of recent years. But the high prices many Americans still face at the grocery store remain a top concern for voters. 

While government officials tout data that shows annual inflation is down to 2.4% from a 40-year high of 7% in June 2022, Americans who remember what they paid for everyday goods just three years ago aren't feeling much relief. 

During his State of the Union speech on Thursday, Biden proclaimed that «wages keep going up and inflation keeps coming down.» 

«Inflation has dropped from 9% to 3% – the lowest in the world. And trending lower,» he said. 

Grocery prices surged more than 21% since the start of 2021, and while prices for some items have come down from their peak, there's little expectation prices will fall to where they used to be.

«The prices of some things will decline. Others will go up. But we don't expect to see a decline in the overall price level. That doesn't tend to happen in economies, except in very negative circumstances,» Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said during an interview with «60 Minutes» that aired in February. «If you think about the basic necessities, things like bread and milk and eggs and meats of various kinds, if you look back, prices are substantially higher than they were before the pandemic.»

CRIME, IMMIGRATION ARE TOP ELECTION ISSUES FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER

A customer shops for milk at a grocery store in San Anselmo, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images / Getty Images)

When Americans