Personal income is rising.
But inflation is eating it up.
Before factoring in inflation, personal income from all sources rose by 2.7% in July year-on-year. The month-on-month gain was a solid 1.1%. This includes wages, stimulus payments, transfer payments (unemployment, Social Security benefits, etc.) along with income from other sources such as interest, dividends, and rental income.
Apparently, the American consumer has bought into the notion that everything is great in the economy. Consumer confidence surged to an 18-year high this month and is close to the all-time record.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index jumped to 138.4, up from 134.7. Analysts expected a dip.
Earlier this month, World Gold Council chief market strategist John Reade said he expects gold to shine in 2018, and one of the primary reasons will be rising income growth in China and India.
A report recently published by the Centre for Economics and Business Research lends support to Reade’s prediction. According to the 2018 World Economic League Table, India will leapfrog France and England in 2018 to become the world’s fifth largest economy in dollar terms. The report also predicted that China will overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy in 2032.
