US: Personal Spending and Jobless Claims cause little surprise – BMO

Sal Guatieri from the Bank of Montreal recaps the latest economic data released by the US. 

Key quotes

“Due to business closures and distancing measures, Personal Spending plunged 7.5% in March, by far the steepest on record though little surprise after yesterday's Q1 GDP release.”

“Core PCE prices declined an expected 0.1% in the month, trimming the yearly rate to 1.7%. It is headed toward 1% in the year ahead.”

“Initial Jobless Claims tallied 3.84 million last week, topping the consensus call and taking the six-week total to an unprecedented 30.3 million, or nearly 19% of the labour force. The number should drop-off quickly in coming weeks as more businesses reopen, but won't return to pre-virus levels of around 200,000 for a long time.”