Saturday morning's reports on personal income and spending continue to show a consumer that is doing alright. Meanwhile, durable goods orders continue to show a production sector that is struggling.
First, real personal income (red in the graph below) rose +0.4% in August, while real personal spending rose +0.1%. Since July spending (blue) was revised down -0.1%, the result was a wash:
The rising trend remains intact.
In general, spending has slightly lagged income in the past few years. Thus, the personal saving rate has increased:
Overall, the savings rate has increased since before the