One of the recent oddities over the last few years has been that despite consumer confidence having ratcheted up considerably (expectations are their highest in 18 years!), there has not been an equivalent rise in real personal spending to the extent that might have been expected given the past relationship depicted in chart 1 of this report. In this week's Economics Weekly, we break down consumer spending into its component parts to examine where consumers are currently spending their income and what might have changed relative to previous periods.
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Richard de Chazal, CFA is a London-based macroeconomist covering the U.S. economy and financial markets.