Spending, income, and prices were all up in August, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis…(BEA)
All eyes continue to be on inflation data and things aren’t getting worse, but they aren’t getting better either…
- M-O-M: The PCE price index increased 0.4%. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.3%. Both these numbers are unchanged from the previous month.
- Y-O-Y: The PCE price index increased 4.3%, a 10 basis point increase from July. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 3.6%, which is unchanged from the previous month.
Despite higher prices (especially on big ticket items like homes and cars) consumers from spending in August…
- Personal outlays saw a $132.6 billion dollar jump (+0.8%) in August. This is a reverse from the 0.1% drop reported in July.
Personal income increased $35.5 billion (0.2 percent) in August, this is down from the 1.1% increase reported in July.
ANALYIS: Conor Sen said on Twitter that the current inflation rate means it won’t take much to eclipse 4% for the year. “YoY core PCE up to 3.62% and the next 3 months we lap are 0.14%, 0.01%, and 0.00%. Won’t take much for 2021 to come in at 4%+.” (Twitter)