So far in 2009, personal consumption expenditures have surprised most observers. After all, employment has collapsed, housing and car markets are dead and wealth has declined sharply. The only positive has been the big decline in gas prices which is freeing some disposable income.
However, the main feed for consumption comes from real wages and as the chart below shows, things are continuing to deteriorate rapidly. Given poor credit availability and already low savings rate, declining real wages will shortly bite and sales will suffer more than recently.
Related posts:
- CONSUMER WATCH: WEEKLY SALES REMAIN GOOD
- CONSUMER WATCH: CHAIN STORE SALES UP 1.4% IN FEBRUARY
- CONSUMER WATCH: US FEB. RETAIL SALES PRETTY GOOD
- CONSUMER WATCH: February Vehicle Sales: Awful, but even Worse Than it Appears
- CONSUMER WATCH: CHAIN STORE SALES REMAIN GOOD
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