US President Joe Biden warned this Sunday that inflation could last for "some time." This after the latest figures revealed that in recent weeks prices have risen more than expected.

"We will live with inflation for some time. It will ease gradually, but we are going to live with it for some time," stressed the official, according to the agency Reutersquoted by the newspaper Económico.

The figures that were released on Friday reported that inflation in the United States reached 8.4% in the 12-month period ending in May, a figure that was not only above analysts' estimates, but matched a 40-year high.

As Reuters recalled on Sunday, Joe Biden's administration initially thought that inflationary pressures would be transitory and that there would be some relief as the economy recovered from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, this has not been the case, which is explained at least in part by Russia's invasion of Ukraine, a conflict that has led to escalating prices, particularly for energy and food.

In response, the White House has put in place various measures to lower prices, but has also stressed that "much of the responsibility" for controlling inflation lies with the US Federal Reserve.