US economy softening from Delta

Staying cautious: Shoppers in the SoHo neighbourhood of New York. Consumers are putting off leisure spending as the spread of the Delta variant increases. — Bloomberg

ATLANTA: The Delta variant has muted the progress of the United States economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, with consumers putting off some leisure spending and businesses delaying a return to normal operations, according to a number of high-frequency reports that show softness in August.

For airlines, the number of travellers moving through airport checkpoints has started to drop again.