The U.S. economy is defying gravity. Here's all the good news.

By Jeffry Bartash

The economy looks like it's accelerated as summer ends

The U.S. economy keeps on trucking despite high gas prices and inflation.

Wall Street just got a health check on the U.S. economy - and almost all the news was good.

Consumer spending rose sharply in August, incomes climbed, the private sector added more new jobs and inflation didn't get any worse.

What's more, an update on the economy's performance in the spring showed stronger growth than initially reported.

"Today's data delivers a Goldilocks combination," said Chris Osmond, chief investment officer at Fifth Third Wealth Advisors.

Here's a quick rundown:

-- Consumer spending - the main engine of the economy - rose almost 1% in August after barely any increase in the prior month. Americans bought more new cars and ate out a lot - things they usually do when the economy is all right and they feel secure in their jobs.

-- The giant payroll processer ADP ADP said the private sector added 90,000 new jobs in September, the biggest increase in three months. Not great - but not bad, either.

-- Wages and salaries rose a solid 0.3% in August, keeping up with inflation. Just a few months ago, inflation was outpacing incomes.

-- The yearly rate of inflation was flat at 3.4%, while a separate measure that strips out energy rose less than expected in August. The inflation report raised hopes that the Federal Reserve will delay another interest-rate hike.

-- Gross domestic product in the second quarter was lifted to an annual rate of growth of 2.2%, from 1.5%, revised figures showed. Consumer spending was even stronger than originally reported, up a whopping 3.8%.

-- Businesses produced more inventories or unsold goods, a sign they expect sales to rise in the months ahead.

Perhaps the only seemingly negative news on Wednesday was a surge in the U.S. trade deficit in goods in August to $133 billion, the fourth largest on record.

Higher oil prices (CL00) (BRN00) were one source of the increase, but the other was robust spending on technology and materials tied to artificial intelligence.

An AI boom is underway in the U.S., and it's played a key role in boosting the economy.

"AI investment continues to accelerate," said Ben Ayers, senior economist at Nationwide.

The economy is on track to expand at a 3.7% annual rate in the third quarter, up from 2.2% in the second quarter, the Atlanta Federal Reserve's GDPNow forecast shows.

-Jeffry Bartash

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09-30-26 1307ET