Fed’s Barkin Senses Consumer Spending May Have Improved in July

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Tom Barkin said he sees signs that the environment for US consumers improved in July after weakness earlier in the year.

“I am getting a smell of a stronger July on the consumer side,” Barkin said Thursday during a webinar hosted by the National Association for Business Economics. “If you look at weekly credit-card data, for example, it looks a lot healthier.”