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Other countries are also struggling because of the economy.
In the United States, statistics are coming out one after another that people are spending less and less money.
They are not opening their wallets more and more as inflation rises steeply, and there are many concerns that this will lead to an economic downturn.
This news was delivered by Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York, USA.
<Reporter> This
is the basis for the US government's optimism that the US economy will be able to sustain itself despite a strong labor market, consumer spending and intensive monetary policy.
[Jerome Powell/Chairman of the US Federal Reserve: The financial condition of individual consumers is very good.
I'm spending money
There are no signs of a widespread slowdown in our economy.]
Consumer spending is important because it makes up two-thirds of the US economy.
However, retail sales for the month of May, announced recently, fell for the first time in five months since December of last year, and consumer spending announced today (the 1st) also fell far short of the market's expectations.
US consumer spending rose only 0.2% in May, only a third of the 0.6% in April the previous month.
[Matt Stucky/Senior Manager, Northwestern Asset Management: The recession may have already begun.
High interest rates are affecting housing, which in turn affects people's spending.]
The personal consumption expenditure price index, the Fed's primary inflation measure, also rose 6.3% year-over-year in May, still high.
New York stocks all fell today on negative economic indicators that inflation continues to soar and consumers close their wallets.
In particular, the S&P 500 Index, which collects blue-chip stocks, fell nearly 20% in the first half of this year, recording the worst six months in 52 years since 1970.
This was similar in other countries, and it was found that the global stock market fell more than 20% in the first half of this year alone.
(Video coverage: Lee Sang-wook, video editing: Jo Moo-hwan)