Inflation Economy Tariffs Donald Trump See all topics Follow
Americans hate this economy, but they keep spending like they love it.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumer spending rose 0.6% in August. Although that may not sound like a lot, it represented significantly stronger growth than economists had expected.
The report wasn’t an outlier: Retail sales also rose 0.6% in August, the Commerce Department said in a separate report two weeks ago. Corporate earnings and sales have proven resilient in the past quarter, with many companies saying customers continue to give them business despite concerns about a flagging economy. And a revised report issued Thursday on the second-quarter gross domestic product, the broadest measure of US economic growth, showed that GDP grew by the fastest rate in almost two years, buoyed by strong consumer spending.
Still, this economy’s ratings are in the toilet. The University of Michigan reported Friday that consumer sentiment fell to an index level of 55.1, the seventh-lowest reading dating back to 1952.
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