The Mighty American Consumer Is About to Hit a Wall, Investors Say
Key engine of US growth is poised to sputter in early 2024, according to survey respondents.
Shoppers in the Magnificent Mile shopping district in Chicago, Illinois, US, on Tuesday, Aug. 15, 2023.
Photographer: Jamie Kelter Davis/BloombergAfter staving off recession for longer than many thought possible, the US consumer is finally about to crack, according to Bloomberg’s latest Markets Live Pulse survey.
More than half of 526 respondents said that personal consumption — the most important driver of economic growth — will shrink in early 2024, which would be the first quarterly decline since the onset of the pandemic. Another 21% said the reversal will happen even sooner, in the last quarter of this year, as high borrowing costs eat into household budgets while Covid-era savings run down.
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The Mighty American Consumer Is About to Hit a Wall, Investors Say