Friday, August 31, 2007

Real PCEs Increase

From the BEA:

Real DPI -- DPI adjusted to remove price changes -- increased 0.5 percent in July, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent in June.

Real PCE -- PCE adjusted to remove price changes -- increased 0.3 percent in July, compared with an increase of less than 0.1 percent in June. Purchases of durable goods increased 0.5 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 1.8 percent. Purchases of nondurable goods increased 0.4 percent, compared with an increase of 0.1 percent. Purchases of services increased 0.2 percent, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent.

PCE price index -- The PCE price index increased 0.1 percent in July, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent in June. The PCE price index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.1 percent, compared with an increase of 0.2 percent.


Here's the chart that really matters -- the inflation-adjusted monthly, seasonally-adjusted annual rate of PCEs. We see an uptick in this months number which is encouraging. The last five months have been a bit stagnant. However, one month does not an increasing trend make. As I said -- this is encouraging but not definitive.