US | Recovery Tracker cools in late-August hiatus

The US Recovery Tracker slid to its lowest level in nearly three months during the week ended August 20, declining 0.2ppts to 95.7. Still, while the Delta variant is driving renewed virus fear and exacerbated virus fatigue, households are still spending at a healthy, albeit cooler pace, and the labor market recovery appears generally resilient.

What you will learn:

• Half of the tracker’s components contracted, driven by tighter financial conditions as equities temporarily dipped. Health conditions worsened while demand ticked lower but remained well above pre-pandemic levels. 
• The cooling recovery was visible across the nation with all but two State Recovery Trackers declining in the third week of August. The biggest weekly losses came in the Dakotas, Mississippi, and West Virginia.
• While Covid-19 cases have climbed to their highest level since late January, infection growth is slowing amid higher vaccination rates. Daily inoculations have shot up 70% from their mid-July slump, to 900k.