A Few Thoughts on Holiday Sales, Gas Prices, and the Economy

Is the economy finally on the rebound?  According to reports of holiday retail sales (see, e.g., here), the answer seems to be yes.  Holiday sales are up 4% over last year, which was viewed as something of a stabilizing year after a fairly large downturn. 

In addition, as of early December, gas prices were up to a two-year high, which had some concerned that holiday sales would suffer as a result.  If sales did suffer because of the current $3+ per gallon prices, the economy may be in even better shape than the sales numbers indicate.  As someone who drove more than 2700 miles in the past week, I can assure you that it's pretty easy to notice gas prices are higher than they have been in a while when you are on a big road trip.

I think this shows that, at a minimum, people are more comfortable that the current state of the economy is stable, if not robust.  Not great news for those without jobs, but I think it does indicate that people are less apprehensive about continued and widespread job losses.  And that is a good thing.

--JPF