US President Joe Biden says American people are "really, really down" after a tumultuous two years that have included the coronavirus pandemic, volatility in the economy and now surging petrol prices that are hitting family budgets.

Speaking to the Associated Press in an Oval Office interview on Thursday, he said a recession was not inevitable and bristled at claims by Republican politicians that last year's COVID-19 aid plan was entirely to blame for inflation reaching a 40-year high, calling the suggestion "bizarre".

As for the overall American mindset, he said: "People are really, really down."

"Everything they've counted on upset.

"But most of it's the consequence of what's happened, what happened as a consequence of the COVID crisis."

President optimistic

Mr Biden addressed the warnings by economists that the United States could be headed for a recession.

"First of all, it's not inevitable," he said.

"Secondly, we're in a stronger position than any nation in the world to overcome this inflation."

The President said he saw reason for optimism in the country's 3.6 per cent unemployment rate and America's relative strength in the world.

"That's not hyperbole, that's a fact."

Voters sour on President's performance

Mr Biden's bleak assessment of the national psyche comes as voters' view on his job performance and the direction of the country sours.

Only 39 per cent of US adults approve of his performance as President, according to a May poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Research, dipping from already negative ratings a month earlier.

Overall, only about two in 10 adults said the US was heading in the right direction or that the economy was good, both down from about three in 10 in April.

Those drops were concentrated among Democrats, with just 33 per cent within the President's party saying the country was headed in the right direction, down from 49 per cent in April.

Hard choices

The President outlined some of the hard choices he had faced, saying the US needed to stand up to Russian President Vladimir Putin for invading Ukraine in February even though tough sanctions imposed as a result of that war had caused gas prices to surge, creating a political risk for Mr Biden in an election year.

He called on oil companies to think of the world's short-term needs and to increase production.

Asked why he ordered the financial penalties against Moscow that have disrupted food and energy markets globally, Mr Biden said he made his calculation as commander-in-chief rather than as a politician thinking about the election.

"I'm the President of the United States," he said.

"It's what's best in the country. No kidding.

Mr Biden spun out the possibility of chaos in Europe if an unimpeded Russia kept moving deeper into the continent, China was emboldened to take over Taiwan and North Korea grew even more aggressive with its nuclear weapon ambitions.

He renewed his contention that major oil companies had benefited from higher prices without increasing production as much as they should.

He said the companies needed to think of the world in the short term, not just their investors.

"Don't just reward yourselves," Mr Biden said.

Spiral of price increases

Consumer prices have jumped 8.6 per cent over the past year, the steepest rise in more than 40 years. Republican politicians have said Mr Biden's $US1.9 trillion ($2.7 trillion) coronavirus relief package from last year kickstarted a spiral of price increases.

The President said there was "zero evidence" for that claim, noting that other countries had endured higher prices as economies reopened and people became vaccinated. Still, Mr Biden acknowledged Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen's contention that the spending had a limited inflationary effect.

"You could argue whether it had on the margin a minor impact on inflation," he said.

Still, high inflation has created a conundrum for Mr Biden. He prioritised bringing back millions of jobs and has seen the unemployment rate return to close to pre-pandemic levels.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday increased its benchmark interest rate, in hopes of slowing the economy and pulling inflation down to its target rate of 2 per cent.

The tightening of Federal-Reserve policy has caused financial markets to slump and led many economists to warn of a potential recession next year. The President encouraged Americans to stay patient.

"They shouldn't believe a warning," he said.

"They should just say: 'Let's see which is correct.'"

AP