Recession warnings are looking flat wrong as consumers power the economy forward
For all the sense of angst about the U.S. economy of late, the American consumer continues powering growth forward.
- New data out this morning confirms that trajectory continued through late summer.
Driving the news: Personal consumption expenditures rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department said this morning, or 0.4% adjusted for inflation.
- The spending bump was particularly strong for physical items, with a 0.8% rise in both durable and nondurable goods.
- Personal income rose as well, though only by 0.4%, meaning that the higher spending was fueled by a lower savings rate.
- It follows on the heels of revisions to second quarter GDP, released yesterday, that showed much stronger consumer spending in the April through June quarter than first estimated, and a 3.8% pace of growth.
- "And why wouldn't they?" Barkin continued. "Unemployment is still low, nominal wages are still increasing, and asset valuations are near all-time highs."
- As our colleague Emily Peck has reported, there is a range of evidence indicating that it is affluent Americans propping up spending, even as lower-income people are pinching pennies more.
- Those low-income groups are less likely to have rising wealth thanks to the booming stock market, and more likely to be financially stressed by tariff-fueled inflation.
- Confirming the bad vibes, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey for September, out this morning, fell 5% from August and is down 21.6% from a year ago.
The bottom line: "The economy has continued to surprise to the upside, and despite the negativity captured in surveys and expressed by commentators, actions speak louder than words and consumers continue to spend," writes Chris Zaccarelli, chief investment officer for Northlight Asset Managemen....
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Oil production is higher than it has ever been. Gasoline was $2.46 at Sam's yesterday. Business investment is up. So all the nay sayers are proving to be wrong.. Maybe coffee prices will be going down next.....

