With more businesses starting to reopen, consumer spending looks as if it is starting to dig its way out of the hole caused by the coronavirus crisis. But the hole is very deep. The Commerce Department on Friday reported that consumer spending fell a record 13.6% in April from a month earlier following a 6.9% drop in March. Adjusted for inflation, that places April’s level of spending about 17% below its first quarter average. Put into the annualized terms the Commerce Department uses when reporting gross domestic product—what...

Source: Wall Street Journal May 29, 2020 16:52 UTC