Podcast: How Small Businesses Survived COVID and Are Poised for Recovery

Consumer inflation expectations in August decreased slightly at the medium-term horizon and remained unchanged at the short- and longer-term horizons, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s most recent Survey of Consumer Expectations.

Consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2% in July. Total outstanding credit increased to $5,186.2 trillion during the month, from June’s revised total of $5,168.2 trillion.

ABA economists believe that small-business owners remain cautiously optimistic amid a mixed operating environment and that conditions could lead to tepid loan demand for small businesses in the coming months.

ABA economists view this month’s strong payroll report as a positive catalyst for business and consumer loan demand. The continued low unemployment rate should also keep consumer credit performance strong.

The ISM Services Index indicated expansion at 55.4%, the 26th consecutive month in expansion territory. A value above 50 reflects expansion in the services sector while a value below 50 represents a contraction.

The rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.71% this week. The rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 6.04%.