‘OOF!’ CNN’s Don Lemon Reacts To Christine Romans Report on New Inflation Numbers

CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent Christine Romans left Don Lemon and his CNN This Morning co-anchors audibly concerned with a report on the unexpected rise in inflation through the month of January.

Romans immediately sighed while being introduced as a guest on the show, to which Lemon responded, “Oh my gosh, what is that sigh for?”

Romans explained the business world’s reaction to the most recent personal consumption expenditure price index (PCEPI), a monthly measurement based on changes in the costs of common goods and services to consumers. In January, the index measured prices raising 5.4% higher than the mark from a year prior.

That’s “Still far away from the Feds desired 2 percent,” Romans explained, while a chart showing the index’s changes month-over-month.

“Oof!” Lemon reacted. After her explanation about how how the index is still far away, Lemon asked, “My question is, is it a trend overall?”

“It’s not a trend overall,” Romans responded. “The trend has been peeking, but still far, far away from that from that 2%. That’s what the Fed wants to see.”

Co-host Poppy Harlow chimed in, bringing up comments by J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon from a Thursday appearance on CNBC, claiming that inflation is out of control.

“Jamie Dimon’s business is to be worried about bad things that are going to happen,” Romans said.

She explained, “The risk and the concern broadly, even inside the Fed that inflation, once it gets out of control, it is really hard to get it back in the bottle. That’s why the Fed raised interest rates so many times so quickly and by so much: they’re trying to get this under control.

Romans continued to explain why the index results are so important to business

A little bit of price increases are healthy in economy, deflation is not so a little bit of inflation and you want to have a strong job market, We still have a very strong job market that spins off more inflation by the way, in higher wages.

“It’s your job to worry too,” Lemon said. “Not just Jamie Dimon’s.”

“I’m rainbows and unicorns, it’s Friday,” Romans responded.

Watch above via CNN.