Latest news with #May2023
Bloomberg
08-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
US Consumer Debt Rises at Slower Pace on Drop in Card Balances
By Updated on Save US consumer borrowing increased in May at the slowest pace in three months on a pullback in credit card and other revolving debt outstanding. Total credit outstanding rose $5.1 billion after a revised $16.9 billion gain in April, according to Federal Reserve data out Tuesday. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $10.5 billion rise.
News.com.au
04-07-2025
- Business
- News.com.au
Aussies splash cash on clothes and cars in May spending surge as rate cut chances firm up
Household spending soared in the month of May, surpassing market estimates just days after retail sales underwhelmed. Fresh figures from the ABS show household spending indicators gained 0.9 per cent month on month beating market predictions of a 0.5 per cent increase. The rise in household spending came just two days after soft retail data came in at 0.2 per cent, against forecasts of a 0.5 per cent lift. Commonwealth Bank senior economist Belinda Allen explained to NewsWire the difference in figures comes from how the data is collated. 'There's a few differences between the two releases, with retail trade being survey-based and only capturing around a third of consumer spending,' Ms Allen said. 'Monthly household spending intentions data, which came out today, uses bank transactional data and other sources so it includes a bit over 60 per cent of consumer spending. 'Depending on what cateorgy does well can mean the difference between the releases.' According to Friday's monthly household spending data seven of the nine spending categories rose in May, led by Clothing and footwear, which was up 3.7 per cent, Transport gained 1.7 per cent, and Miscellaneous goods and services rose 1.3 per cent. Alcoholic beverages and tobacco slipped 1.4 per cent and Food dropped 0.1 per cent to be the only two negative quarters. This follows a flat result in April and a 0.1 per cent fall in March. Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said the rise in May was driven by spending on discretionary goods and services. 'Discretionary spending rose 1.1 per cent, as households spent more on clothing and footwear, new vehicles, and dining out,' he said. 'Meanwhile, non-discretionary spending was up 0.5 per cent, rising for a fifth consecutive month.' Household spending is now 4.2 per cent higher than this time last year, led by health spending which jumped 8.4 per cent and miscellaneous goods and services which is up 8.3 per cent. Services spending was 7.5 per cent higher than May 2024, while goods spending was up 1.5 per cent. The boost in household spending indicators comes just days after the ABS also released its retail sales data which underwhelmed market expectations. Retail sales were up 0.2 per cent in May following a disappointing April which saw sales fall by 0.1 per cent even though Australians were treated to two public holidays in the month. Ms Allen said regardless of the figure used, it is too low to impact the RBA rate decision next week. 'When you look at the collective data since the May release … there has been enough to show that lower interest rates are both necessary and manageable for the Australian economy both from an activity and inflation perspective' she said. 'We have to remember interest rates are still in restrictive territory, they will still be in the restrictive territory with this next rate cut and the economic recovery is still pretty lacklustre.' Ms Allen said even though consumer spending picked up on today's household spending data it is too early to tell if Australia's economy is starting to track better. 'There are some green shoots in the data,' she said. 'Discretionary spend is a little stronger, including eating and drinking out so there are some areas where you can see an improvement in consumer spending. 'But if you look at how much it has lifted throughout the year, it is still pretty soft.'
CBC
03-07-2025
- Business
- CBC
Canada's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $5.9B in May
Canada's merchandise trade deficit narrowed to $5.9 billion in May, according to data from Statistics Canada, after hitting a record high in April. The country's exports rose by 1.1 per cent, after falling steeply by 11 per cent the month prior. It also marked the first increase in exports in four months. Overall, imports were down for the third month in a row, falling by 1.6 per cent, according to Statistics Canada. In April, Canada's trade deficit ballooned to $7.1 billion, from $2.3 billion in March.
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Consumers saw a double whammy of bad news in May, pulling back on spending as inflation heated up
Consumer spending in May fell for the first time this year, the Commerce Department reported Friday, indicating that weakening consumer confidence is starting to affect the checkout line. Meanwhile, inflation ticked up and is projected to rise even more due to tariffs, economists say, predicting a 'summer slowdown.' For the first time this year, consumers pulled back on spending as the bad mood that's been pervasive since tariffs hit caught up with retail data. Overall spending in May fell 0.1% from the prior month and incomes fell 0.4%, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Coming on the heels of a report that first-quarter GDP shrank more than expected, the data show a rapidly downshifting economy. 'Personal consumption expenditures are weak and continue to weaken,' Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James, told Fortune. 'We knew that consumer demand has been on the weak side, but yesterday we had the revision to the first-quarter GDP, which reaffirmed that consumption wasn't that strong. Today's number just confirmed that this wasn't a one-off.' Both spending and income figures were distorted by one-time changes. Spending on cars plunged, pulling down overall spending, because Americans had moved more quickly to buy vehicles in the spring to get ahead of tariffs. But spending on airfares, meals, and hotels all fell last month—signs of underlying consumer pressure rather than mere timing shifts. Spending on services overall rose just 0.1% in May, the lowest one-month increase in four and a half years. 'Because consumers are not in a strong enough shape to handle those (higher prices), they are spending less on recreation, travel, hotels, that type of thing,' said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust. Retail sales also dropped sharply last month, contracting 0.9%, according to a separate report released last week. Incomes also dropped after a one-time adjustment to Social Security benefits boosted payments in March and April, allowing some retirees who had worked for state and local governments to get higher Social Security payments. Inflation heated up modestly, with prices rising at a 2.3% annual rate in May, compared with 2.1% in April. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, increased 2.7% from a year earlier, up from April's 2.6% rate. In the first three months of this year, consumer spending rose just 0.5% and has been sluggish in the first two months of the second quarter. Most economists think May's figures signal a dramatic downshift to come. 'The US economy is poised for a summer slowdown,' EY economists wrote. 'Both consumer spending and business investment are expected to decelerate significantly.' In recent years, consumers have been able to keep spending more thanks to real income growth and a boost to some government benefits. 'But these two supports have now mostly faded, and the real income picture is about to deteriorate rapidly, as tariffs drive up prices,' economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said. With personal savings low and consumers too skittish to borrow, 'consumption is likely to slow much further, and soon,' they said. Real incomes are set to flatten this year, due partly to a weaker job market but also because prices are rising, they wrote. At the same time, the rate of inflation—2.7% annually—is significantly higher than the Federal Reserve's 2% target, making it unlikely rate cuts are coming anytime soon. 'With so many uncertainties still lingering, the Fed will likely hold off on rate cuts for the time being,' Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin said. This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
28-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Consumers saw a double whammy of bad news in May, pulling back on spending as inflation heated up
Consumer spending in May fell for the first time this year, the Commerce Department reported Friday, indicating that weakening consumer confidence is starting to affect the checkout line. Meanwhile, inflation ticked up and is projected to rise even more due to tariffs, economists say, predicting a 'summer slowdown.' For the first time this year, consumers pulled back on spending as the bad mood that's been pervasive since tariffs hit caught up with retail data. Overall spending in May fell 0.1% from the prior month and incomes fell 0.4%, the Commerce Department reported Friday. Coming on the heels of a report that first-quarter GDP shrank more than expected, the data show a rapidly downshifting economy. 'Personal consumption expenditures are weak and continue to weaken,' Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James, told Fortune. 'We knew that consumer demand has been on the weak side, but yesterday we had the revision to the first-quarter GDP, which reaffirmed that consumption wasn't that strong. Today's number just confirmed that this wasn't a one-off.' Both spending and income figures were distorted by one-time changes. Spending on cars plunged, pulling down overall spending, because Americans had moved more quickly to buy vehicles in the spring to get ahead of tariffs. But spending on airfares, meals, and hotels all fell last month—signs of underlying consumer pressure rather than mere timing shifts. Spending on services overall rose just 0.1% in May, the lowest one-month increase in four and a half years. 'Because consumers are not in a strong enough shape to handle those (higher prices), they are spending less on recreation, travel, hotels, that type of thing,' said Luke Tilley, chief economist at Wilmington Trust. Retail sales also dropped sharply last month, contracting 0.9%, according to a separate report released last week. Incomes also dropped after a one-time adjustment to Social Security benefits boosted payments in March and April, allowing some retirees who had worked for state and local governments to get higher Social Security payments. Inflation heated up modestly, with prices rising at a 2.3% annual rate in May, compared with 2.1% in April. Core prices, which exclude volatile food and energy costs, increased 2.7% from a year earlier, up from April's 2.6% rate. In the first three months of this year, consumer spending rose just 0.5% and has been sluggish in the first two months of the second quarter. Most economists think May's figures signal a dramatic downshift to come. 'The US economy is poised for a summer slowdown,' EY economists wrote. 'Both consumer spending and business investment are expected to decelerate significantly.' In recent years, consumers have been able to keep spending more thanks to real income growth and a boost to some government benefits. 'But these two supports have now mostly faded, and the real income picture is about to deteriorate rapidly, as tariffs drive up prices,' economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics said. With personal savings low and consumers too skittish to borrow, 'consumption is likely to slow much further, and soon,' they said. Real incomes are set to flatten this year, due partly to a weaker job market but also because prices are rising, they wrote. At the same time, the rate of inflation—2.7% annually—is significantly higher than the Federal Reserve's 2% target, making it unlikely rate cuts are coming anytime soon. 'With so many uncertainties still lingering, the Fed will likely hold off on rate cuts for the time being,' Nationwide Financial Markets Economist Oren Klachkin said. This story was originally featured on Sign in to access your portfolio
