
Strong Online Sales - Flexport Weekly Economic Report
The monthly advance retail sales numbers for September showed continued strength, up 0.7% for the month in nominal terms and 3.0% for the year.

The monthly advance retail sales numbers for September showed continued strength, up 0.7% for the month in nominal terms and 3.0% for the year.

Last week longer-dated Treasury yields hit highs not seen in over a decade. Longer-term yields are the transmission mechanism by which tighter monetary policy is likely to impact the economy and these moves bring us closer to impact.

The August inflation numbers looked good. Exactly how good depends where you look. Apart from surging energy prices, there were encouraging downward trends.

Amidst persistent and excessive inflation, most of the world’s major central banks have sharply raised rates. Some have just shown a willingness to wait and see whether these hikes will suffice to knock inflation down.

Whether August CPI showed an alarming revival of inflation or a minor uptick depends heavily on the weight one gives to volatile energy prices. Regardless, U.S. inflation remains well above the Fed’s target and above market expectations.

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While U.S. goods imports exceed goods exports, the latter have been growing faster this year. That growth has been led by producer-oriented categories such as petroleum products and aircraft parts, rather than products more familiar to consumers.

The latest numbers on U.S. personal income and expenditures show that consumption has been outpacing income. There are limits to how long consumption and income can go their separate ways.