Biden administration braces for 'extraordinarily elevated' inflation

The Biden administration is bracing for Labor Department data to show "extraordinarily elevated" inflation numbers, which the White House blames on Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The consumer price index, a key measure of inflation, is set to be released on Tuesday for the month of March. 

"Because of the actions we’ve taken to address the Putin price hike, we are in a better place than we were last month," White House press secretary Jen Psaki claimed Monday.

"But we expect the March CPA – CPI headline to be extraordinarily elevated due to Putin's price hike," she said.

"We expect a large difference between core and headline inflation reflecting the global disruptions in energy and food markets," Psaki added.

While the average cost of a gallon of regular gas has gone down from its record high last month, it still costs $4.11, over a dollar more than it cost one year ago, according to AAA.

President Joe Biden has insisted that his policies are not driving inflation.

The average American family is expected to spend an extra $5,200 this year compared to 2021 due to inflation, Bloomberg reported.