Consumer borrowing has slowed somewhat from the record level we saw in June, but Americans continue to pile on the debt.
Consumer debt grew by $14.4 billion in August to $4.35 trillion, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That represents a 4% increase.
This follows on the heels of a 4.8% increase in July after a record 10.6% increase in June.
The Federal Budget Deficit for August 2021 was $171B which was down from the $302B in July. The chart below shows the Federal Budget for the previous 18 months.
The Fed balance sheet stands at $8.33 trillion, up $111 billion from the prior month-end.
The chart below shows how the Fed Balance sheet has grown by instrument over the last 18 months. The major surge from COVID can be clearly seen as $2.5T was added within 2 months. The monthly changes since then reflect QE on autopilot.
The Federal Reserve has pumped trillions of dollars into the economy through its quantitative easing programs. This has generated a surge of inflation. But there are other less obvious impacts from the Fed’s extraordinary monetary policy. It conceals risk. Everybody sees a “booming” economy and assumes everything is fine. But underneath, the entire thing is rotting from the inside.
Gold and silver tanked after last Friday’s job report. But both metals have rallied a bit since the July CPI numbers came in right at expectations. In this episode of the Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey looks a little deeper at jobs and CPI. Then he goes off-script and addresses some listener comments.
After posting a 10.4% increase in May, consumer debt continued to expand, growing by a record rate in June.
Consumer credit grew by $37.69 billion in June, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve. That represents a 10.6% increase. The Fed also revised the May number up from $35.3 billion to $36.6 billion.
Gold was solidly above $1,800 an ounce this week until Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida mentioned the economy reaching the Fed’s goals earlier than expected and raised the specter of monetary policy tightening. But is the economy really improving as much as everybody seems to think? In this week’s Friday Gold Wrap, host Mike Maharrey digs into some of the economic numbers and determines they’re faking it.
With the stimulus checks long ago spent, Americans have gone back to buying things the old-fashioned way – on credit.
Household debt surged by $313 billion in the second quarter to nearly $15 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York Household Debt and Credit Report. It was the biggest quarterly dollar increase in household debt since 2007. In percentage terms, household debt grew by 2.1%, the biggest surge since Q4 2013.
What do you do when that stimulus money runs out? You whip out the credit card.
Consumer debt was up 10% in May, according to the latest data from the Federal Reserve, and we saw a big jump in credit card balances for the first time since February 2020.
The markets have obsessed over what the Fed is saying while almost completely ignoring what it’s actually doing.
After the June FOMC meeting, markets reacted to the hint that the Fed might start raising interest rates in 2023 instead of 2024. But of course, it didn’t move rates up from zero. And while the Fed apparently talked about talking about tapering its quantitative easing bond-buying program, it continues to expand its balance sheet at a torrid pace.
