Real Consumption and Nominal Nonresidential Construction Flatline

QI Takeaway –  GOP Minority Leader Senate Mitch McConnell is just getting warmed up as he smells blood in the water in a splintering Democratic party. With the continued signs that the global economic rebound could be brought to its knees with an energy crisis, there’s no reason to own the steepening though rent it if you’ve got excellent reflexes.

  1. At a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of $787 billion, residential construction in August hit its highest print since at least 1993; while housing prices rose 23% YoY to a median $342,350 in July, per the Atlanta Fed, median incomes of $67,031 are up just 3% YoY
  2. Nonresidential construction has fallen for three consecutive months, from a $460 billion SAAR in May to $456 billion in August; similarly, the Dodge Construction Momentum Index also fell for a third straight month in August as nonresidential demand remains weak
  3. Though August’s consumer spending rose 0.8% MoM, this gain was offset by both inflation and the 0.4% downward revision to July’s -0.1% print; meanwhile, the savings rate fell to 9.4% in August from July’s 10.1% as inflation drives the increase in nominal spending