We highlighted yesterday that spending on services was precariously close to signally a recession in the US (link). The good news is the first data point for the fourth quarter shows spending on services increased by 0.2% month-over-month and is 1.14% higher than it was a year ago. Overall real PCE increased by 0.3% month-over-month.
One potential flag the Fed is sure to be keeping their eye on is the PCE price index. The year-over-year change fell to it's lowest level since 2009 and the core-PCE change fell to it's lowest level in about 2 1/2 years.