Incomes and Spending Up Again in June

Personal Incomes rose +0.4% in June, which was in line with the consensus expectations for an increase of +0.4%. June's income growth was in line with the April level, which was unrevised from +0.4% (April: +0.3%, March: +0.5%). Personal Spending (now called “Consumption”) for the month rose +0.4%, which was also in line with the expectations for +0.4% and above last month's revised figure of +0.3% (April: -0.1%, March: +1.0%). On the inflation front, the Core PCE (which is reportedly one of the Fed's favorite measures of consumer inflation) was up +0.1% in June. The level was below with last month's +0.2%. Core PCE has risen by 1.5% on year-over-year basis, which remains below the Fed's longer-term inflation target of 2.0%. Why do you care? Remember, the consumer is responsible for 70% of U.S. economic activity (aka GDP)