Shortly after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell cut interest rates by a quarter of a point,  the U.S. dollar reached its highest level in more than two years. The announcement of the cut comes just days after the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) revealed personal income increased $83.6 billion (0.4 percent) in June, according to estimates. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $69.7 billion (0.4 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $41.0 billion (0.3 percent).

The increase in personal income in June primarily reflected increases in wages and salaries, government social benefits to persons, and supplements to wages and salaries.

Personal outlays increased $44.2 billion in June. Personal saving was $1.34 trillion in June and the personal saving rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 8.1 percent.

In the second quarter, consumer spending surged at a 4.3 percent annual rate, as spending on goods rose at the fastest rate since the first quarter of 2006.

The economy beat expectations again in June by adding 224,000 jobs, the last month of the second quarter, and averaging 129,000 jobs added per month over the past year.