Americans kept on spending despite the rise of the Delta variant. What happens now that, for the moment at least, the surge in Covid-19 cases Delta brought about has begun to fade?
The Commerce Department on Friday reported that consumer spending in August rose a seasonally adjusted 0.8% from a month earlier after edging down 0.1% in July. Spending might have been even higher if it weren’t for shortages of some items that people are keen to buy. Purchases of new cars and trucks fell by 10% last month—a consequence of how ongoing supply-chain problems are keeping dealer lots sparse.