Daily Self-Spending Report Steady

Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $91 in September for a second month, but the highest average for the month since 2008. The stability in September comes after wide swings during the summer months -- when spending rose from June's $88 average to an eight-year high of $100 in July, then fell to $91 in August. Since December 2012, Americans' daily spending estimates have consistently averaged $80 or higher in all but one month. By contrast, in the four years prior, which included part of the Great Recession and periods of high unemployment that ensued, monthly spending averages were as low as $58 and never above $77.

American consumers this year avoided the September slump in spending typically seen in recent years. That has helped keep average spending for the first nine months of 2016 the highest for any year since 2008. Spending patterns of the past decade for the months of October, November and December suggest that spending will increase even further.