Personal savings in the U.S. 1960-2023

Personal savings in the United States reached a value of 911 billion U.S. dollars in 2023, which is significantly higher than in 2022. Personal savings peaked in 2020 at nearly 2.7 trillion U.S. dollars. Those figures remained very high until 2021. The excess savings during the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S. and other countries were the main reason for that increase, as the measures implemented to contain the spread of the virus had an impact on consumer spending.Saving before and after the 2008 financial crisisDuring the periods of growth and certain economic stability in the pre-2008 crisis period, there were falling savings rates. People were confident the good times would stay and felt comfortable borrowing money. Credit was easily accessible and widely available, which encouraged people to spend money. However, in times of austerity, people generally tend to their private savings due to a higher economic uncertainty. That was also the case in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Savings and inflationThe economic climate of high inflation and rising Federal Reserve interest rates in the U.S. made it increasingly difficult to save money in 2022. Not only does inflation affect the ability of people to save, but reversely, consumer behavior also affects inflation. On the one hand, prices can increase when the production costs are higher. That can be the case, for example, when the price of West Texas Intermediate crude oil or other raw materials increases. On the other hand, when people have a lot of savings and the economy is strong, high levels of consumer demand can also increase the final price of products.

美国个人储蓄在2023年达到了9110亿美元，这一数字显著高于2022年。个人储蓄在2020年达到近2.7万亿美元的高峰，该数字直至2021年始终保持较高水平。美国及其他国家在COVID-19疫情期间的超额储蓄是导致这一增长的主要原因，因为为遏制病毒传播而采取的措施对消费支出产生了影响。在2008年金融危机前后，储蓄率在危机前增长与经济稳定期呈现下降趋势。人们对于经济繁荣的持续抱有信心，并乐于借贷。信贷的易得性与广泛可获得性，促进了消费。然而，在经济紧缩时期，人们普遍会关注其私人储蓄，这源于更高的经济不确定性。2008年金融危机之后亦是如此。储蓄与通胀：美国高通胀和美联储利率上升的经济环境使得2022年储蓄变得越来越困难。通胀不仅影响人们的储蓄能力，反之，消费者行为也会影响通胀。一方面，当生产成本上升时，价格可能会上涨。例如，当西德克萨斯中质原油或其他原材料价格上涨时，就会发生这种情况。另一方面，当人们拥有大量储蓄且经济强劲时，高水平的消费者需求也可能推高产品的最终价格。