Bessent says rising US inflation is an 'energy shock' and prices will fall after the Iran conflict

US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said higher US inflation was the result of an “energy shock” and that prices would come down once the conflict with Iran ends, in an interview broadcast on NBC’s Meet the Press on Sunday 18 October, US time.

Asked about the latest consumer price figures, Bessent said: “We have an energy shock.” He said core inflation “has been very flat before this month”, and that food prices were below the Federal Reserve’s targets and rents were down. “We will get to the other side of the Iran conflict, and those prices will come down,” he said.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on 14 October that consumer prices rose 0.6% in September and 3.7% over 12 months, up from 3.4% in August. Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 2.6% over the year, up from 2.4%, CNBC reported. Gasoline prices rose 9.1% in the month, about half of the overall increase, and 34.2% over the year.

Host Kristen Welker said inflation was 3% when President Donald Trump took office and asked when the administration would take responsibility for the economy. “Well, we will own the economy,” Bessent said, citing a million private-sector jobs added this year and record household net worth. Asked whether petrol prices would fall by the new year, he said “it will depend on what happens with the Iran conflict.”

The Federal Reserve raised its policy rate in September to a range of 3.75% to 4%. Its next meeting is on 27 and 28 October.

In the same interview, Bessent also answered questions about US sanctions on Russia and about Ukraine.