Great news, sorta: Consumer spending jumped 1.7% in October, but ...

[mystery-ak]

Great news, sorta: Consumer spending jumped 1.7% in October, but ...
Ed Morrissey Nov 16, 2021 10:01 AM ET

… how much of that represents a real gain? The Commerce Department reported a sharp increase in consumer spending in October, twice the rise in September. However, the seasonally adjusted figure lacks another key adjustment:

    Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for October 2021, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $638.2 billion, an increase of 1.7 percent (±0.5 percent) from the previous month, and 16.3 percent (±0.9 percent) above October 2020. Total sales for the August 2021 through October 2021 period were up 15.4 percent (±0.7 percent) from the same period a year ago. The August 2021 to September 2021 percent change was revised from up 0.7 percent (±0.5 percent) to up 0.8 percent (±0.2 percent).

    Retail trade sales were up 1.9 percent (±0.4 percent) from September 2021, and up 14.8 percent (±0.7 percent) above last year. Gasoline stations were up 46.8 percent (±1.6 percent) from October 2020, while food services and drinking places were up 29.3 percent (±3.9 percent) from last year.

If today’s report shows consumer demand rebounding, that will be good news indeed. However, today’s figures are not adjusted for inflation, as the AP’s Christopher Rugaber reminds readers:

    Retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.7% in October from September, the U.S. Commerce Department said Tuesday. That’s up from 0.8% in the previous month.

    Solid hiring, strong pay raises, and healthy savings for many households are underpinning robust spending. Americans are also still buying more cars, furniture, and other goods than they did before the pandemic, which is overwhelming U.S. ports and shipping firms and pushing up prices.

    Tuesday’s retail sales figures aren’t adjusted for inflation, which rose 0.9% in October, the government said last Wednesday.

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https://hotair.com/ed-morrissey/2021/11/16/great-news-sorta-consumer-spending-jumped-1-7-in-october-but-n429533

[EdinVA]

Pre-shortage (hoarder) purchases.... nothing to get excited about.

[GtHawk]

Pre-shortage (hoarder) purchases.... nothing to get excited about.

I wonder too how many people made purchase that were planned for later out of concern for where prices are shooting up to. Also how much credit card debt are people loading up on and how many bankruptcies and foreclosures are we going to see in the near future?