Do the Consumer Reports Drive the Gold Price?

GDP, employment and inflation are a Holy Trinity of economic indicators. However, reports on consumer activity are also extremely important for the financial markets. It is not surprising: consumers are the ultimate rulers of the economy and their actions affect GDP, corporate profits and stock prices, labor market, inflation, the housing market and so on. There are several ways of measuring consumer activity, but it is the Personal Income and Outlays report that is the most widely watched data on consumer spending. The report includes data both on personal income and personal consumption expenditures (PCE). The latter primarily measures consumer spending on goods and services in the U.S. economy. It indicates the economic growth, since it is released monthly (while GDP is published quarterly) and it accounts for about two-thirds of the final domestic spending. Therefore, it should move very closely together with the GDP. Does it really do so? Let’s look at the chart below.

First published here: Do the Consumer Reports Drive the Gold Price?