Trump’s economic advisor caught in a silly lie

The users of social networks quickly criticized a main economic advisor of President Donald Trump for stating that egg prices are going down.

Kevin Hasett, director of the National Economic Council, told journalists on Wednesday that egg prices are “going down $ 2.50 per dozen” as consumers continue to inform that egg prices shoot in recent weeks. Prices for a dozen eggs in the United States He reached a record last month In the middle of the ongoing avian flu outbreak.

“They have $ 2.50 per dozen. And I went to the grocery store, as I do every Saturday, because I am I who likes to buy in my family because I can see all the prices. And the prices of the egg in DC actually fell much more than $ 2.50 per dozen,” Hassett told journalists.

Wholesale prices of eggs, which are what retailers pay to acquire the eggs, have fallen since the beginning of March, according to a report of The New York Times. The national average of wholesale prices of eggs is a little more than $ 4 per dozen, which is below the peak of more than $ 8 per dozen at the end of February, according to the report.

Consumers still cannot see lower prices from eggs in the groceries for weeks despite wholesale prices.

When asked about the difference between wholesale prices of eggs and the prices that Americans see in the grocery store, Hasset said the eggs cost “$ 2.50 per dozen.”

“Go to the groceries. Literally, I just went to the grocery store and bought the same eggs that I always buy. They were very low. They are $ 2.50 per dozen for the whole country,” he told reporters.

Social networks quickly criticized Hasset and suggested that their analysis on egg prices was inaccurate. Many users published screenshots of the prices of the eggs of the grocery store located near them, and some point out that the prices of the eggs are More than $ 10 per dozen in your area.

A user said that in Michigan, a dozen eggs was among “$ 5.75 and $ 7.00”.

The last monthly consumer price index showed that a dozen grade eggs cost an average of $ 5.90 in the US cities in February, 10.4% more than a year ago. That eclipsed the January record price of $ 4.95.

The avian flu has forced farmers to kill more than 166 million birds, mostly eggs. Only since the beginning of the year, more than 30 million layers of eggs have been killed.

If prices remain high, it will be the third consecutive year, consumers have faced the shock of the label before Easter on April 20 and Easter, which begins on the night of April 12, both occasions in which the eggs play prominent roles.

The price had been constantly below $ 2 per dozen for decades before the disease attacked. The United States Department of Agriculture expects egg prices to increase 41% this year about last year’s average of $ 3.17 per dozen.

But there may be light at the end of the tunnel. The USDA reported last week that the shortage of eggs is decreasing and wholesale prices are decreasing, which could provide relief on the retail side before this year’s Easter, which is three weeks after last year. He said there had been no significant outbreak of avian flu for two weeks.

Associated Press contributed to this report.