Economic activity in the United States remains subdued and stays well below pre-coronavirus levels despite a slight rebound in the past two months. Overall, there are some signs of improvement. However, the US is still on a lockdown which makes it difficult to restore the economic activity at a rapid pace. Consumer and business activity is showing moderate growth as the persistent uncertainty related to the pandemic is holding back personal and business spending. Despite the resumption of consumer activity, the total spending in this area is far below pre-pandemic levels. Yet, the appetite for cars and real estate among US citizens has recently increased. Thus, car sales and residential construction went notably higher. Residential real estate sales also went up, with prices continuing to rise along with demand and a shortage of inventory. “In the banking sector, overall loan demand increased slightly, led by solid residential mortgage activity,” the Fed’s report states. Besides, the retail and tourism sectors reported some minor improvements which make the outlook modestly optimistic. On the flip side, the Fed noted that the situation with employment remained unstable. In particular, some businesses report difficulties bringing their employees back to work. This unwillingness can be explained by sufficient unemployment benefits. It seems that Americans enjoy staying home and are reluctant to go back to office work.
