US Consumers Lose Steam, Setting Economy Up for Sharp Slowdown
- Inflation-adjusted spending is essentially flat since January
- Price pressures easing, though underlying inflation elevated
Pedestrians carry shopping bags in San Francisco.
Photographer: David Paul Morris/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
US consumer spending — the economy’s main engine — has lost steam for most of this year, portending weaker growth ahead while also helping to cool inflation.
Inflation-adjusted spending was little changed in May and has essentially stalled since surging in the first month of 2023, according to Bureau of Economic Analysis figures published Friday. That may help to ease price pressures further after one of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation metrics fell last month to the lowest level in more than two years.