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Concerns about an economic downturn are growing as the survey data that US consumers are closing their wallets has been made public.
Stocks in New York fell sharply, their worst decline in 52 years.
Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York.
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The Federal Reserve has recently raised the key interest rate sharply in order to keep up with soaring inflation.
Concerns over a recession posed by high interest rates have emphasized the safety of the U.S. economy on the back of a strong job market and growing consumer spending, which makes up two-thirds of the U.S. economy.
[Jerome Powell/Federal Reserve Chairman (last month 17): US consumers are in very good shape economically.
spending money, and given the current economic situation, there are no signs of a broader consumption slowdown.]
However, US consumer spending slowed significantly in May.
Consumer spending, which rose 0.6% in April the previous month, rose only 0.2% in the previous month, below the 0.4% expected by the market, marking the smallest increase this year.
This means that consumers are closing their wallets due to high inflation, and concerns about an economic recession are also growing.
Meanwhile, the personal consumption expenditure price index, a price index the Fed mainly references, rose 6.3% from a year earlier and 0.6% from a month ago.
Although the pace of inflation slowed slightly, slightly below the 6.4% expected by the market, it still maintained a high level.
On the 1st of today (1st), the New York Stock Exchange fell slightly in all three major indices due to the announcement of these economic indicators.
In the first half of this year, the New York Stock Exchange recorded the worst decline in 52 years.
The S&P 500, a collection of blue-chip stocks, fell nearly 20% this year, the biggest decline since 1970, while the price of U.S. Treasury bonds also plunged 10%.
Meanwhile, New York oil prices fell nearly 4% today on expectations that high inflation could dampen demand.