Prices are starting to spike—and it’s all thanks to one guy

Wholesale prices spiked in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced on Thursday, as President Donald Trump's idiotic tariffs caused much higher price increases than economists had expected.

The Producer Price Index, which measures inflation from the producer's vantage point rather than the consumer's, rose 0.9% in July—far higher than the 0.2% economists had projected, according to CNBC. At an annualized rate, PPI increased by 3.3%—more than the 2% inflation rate the Federal Reserve Bank strives for.

Ultimately, July's PPI was the biggest spike in three years, with economists saying it is inevitable that consumers will start to feel price increases soon.

“Producers are starting to feel the inflation fire heat,” Chris Rupkey, chief economist at FwdBonds, told CNN. “It will only be a matter of time before producers pass their higher tariff-related costs on to the backs of inflation-weary consumers.”

Food saw the biggest wholesale price increases, according to the BLS data. The wholesale cost of fresh and dry vegetables jumped a massive 38.9% in July. Automobiles—which are made from imported parts that face steep tariffs—also spiked 4.8% in July. 

Aluminum scrap rose 13.5% in July, following Trump's decision to impose nonsensically steep tariffs on the metal. The increase in imported aluminum prices could cause drink maker AriZona Iced Tea to raise the price on their iconic 99-cent cans for the first time in 30 years, The New York Times reported.

Trump, for his part, has been bragging about the amount of money his tariffs are putting into the Treasury Department’s coffers. However, it is American businesses that are paying those tariffs, with the data showing that the tariffs are raising the price of wholesale goods. 

And that will lead to one of two outcomes—neither of which are good. Either retailers will have to raise prices for consumers, or businesses will have to cut staff or delay future hiring to make up for the tariff-induced price increases. 

"When Trump’s tariffs hike costs on businesses, businesses can't afford to hire and they raise prices,” Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee wrote in a post on X. “It’s bad for everyone.”

Not even Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, an infamous Trump sycophant, could hide how bad the PPI report is.

“Take a look markets are selling off here,” Bartiromo said, calling the PPI spike “troubling.”