Americans are paying record-high prices for new vehicles

DETROIT – If investors are looking for signs of a recession or weakening consumer spending, they can skip over new vehicle prices, which hit a new record in June.

Fueled by pent-up consumer demand, low vehicle inventories and rising sales of luxury vehicles, Cox Automotive reported this week the average transaction price of a new vehicle last month was $48,083 – a 1.9% increase from May and higher than the previous record of $47,202 set in December.

The average sale price was part of a broader increase in consumer spending in June, according to the Bureau…