Summer Spending at Restaurants, Bars Surges

Weekly Economic & Financial Commentary

U.S. Review Summer Spending at Restaurants, Bars Surges

• Retail sales data for July showed the U.S. consumer continuing to exhibit strength, with broad-based sales growth and a notable acceleration in food service & drinking places sales.
• Housing starts rose in July, led by small gains in both singleand multifamily starts, but the increase was below the Bloomberg consensus.
• Upward revisions to the June data helped offset a weak July reading for industrial production.
• The trend in industrial production remains solidly upward, with production over the past year notching the biggest one-year gain since early 2011.

Global Review Global Economy Displays Relative Calm

• While global markets have been somewhat volatile this week, in particular in Turkey, global economies have continued to display relative calm. U.K. retail sales recovered in July but employment growth has eased, though with inflation pressures absent the Bank of England should be on hold for some time.
• The latest round of Chinese economic data points to an economy that remains on a gradually slowing path, a trajectory that should see a continued pause in Chinese authorities’ effort to reduce leverage in the economy. Meanwhile, Australia’s economy is only slowly improving, suggesting Reserve Bank of Australia rate hikes are likely still some way away.

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