Modest Inflation, Soft Spending Support Fed Hold

July’s personal income and outlays report indicates the underlying pace of inflation increased relatively modestly. Real spending also came in soft. The weakness was exaggerated by temporary factors such as the earlier-than-usual Amazon Prime Day, but the concentration of spending in essentials suggests the underlying pace of spending has decelerated. Michael Ball, Macro Strategist with Bloomberg News, reacts to the PCE data. (Source: Bloomberg)