Savings Rate Falls (June 0.2% 2nd lowest since Great Depression)

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After a June 0.2% savings rate, Car and light truck sales in July could propel the national savings rate into negative territory for the month.

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-savings3aug03,0,6644478.story?track=tottext

Savings Rate Falls to Almost Zero
At just 0.02% in June, the monthly figure is the second-lowest since the Great Depression.
By Joel Havemann
Times Staff Writers

August 3, 2005

WASHINGTON — For more than a decade, Americans have been spending more and saving less. In June, people spent virtually everything they earned and saved almost nothing.

The government reported Tuesday that the nation's savings rate fell to a paltry 0.02%, the second-lowest monthly rate since the Great Depression.

June's rate was eclipsed only by the minus-0.2% rate in October 2001, after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, when consumers enthusiastically responded to patriotic promotions from auto companies.<snip>

Businesses rely on savings for the investments that enable them to grow, and the government is running huge deficits that are soaking up a large share of investment dollars.<snip>

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