Perhaps most notable, personal consumption expenditures are estimated to have increased at an annual rate of a little over 3 percent in the three months ending in August, and auto sales moved up to a strong 18.1 million unit annualized pace in September.
Thus, even though equity prices are down this year, continued job growth, lower gas prices, rising house prices and some loosening in consumer credit look likely to support consumer spending over the second half of the year. Moreover, domestic investment also looks to be increasing at a moderate pace despite the drag from the energy sector.