To battle inflation, Biden targets supply chains, gas, meat packers

President Joe Biden is trying to attack US inflation that recently hit a 31-year high and is eroding his popularity by blasting supply chain logjams and going after what the White House calls  "pandemic profiteers."

 Biden has an uphill battle, because there is simply no magic bullet a president can use to cure inflation, economists say.

And the longer prices stay high, the greater the chance that inflation fears become  "de-anchored," or untethered from reality, making them harder to fight.

Supply chain experts said measures like keeping ports running 24 hours a day will help get more goods onto retailers' shelves, but warn that disruptions could last well into 2022.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and the Federal Reserve have repeatedly said this year that they believe inflation is transitory.

Frustrated by the refusal of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and Russia to boost production, the Biden administration is urging China and other oil-consuming nations to consider releasing crude stockpiles to lower global energy prices.

China and other governments are looking at releasing oil from their strategic reserves in response, but Japan and South Korea said they cannot do so simply to deal with rising prices.