The economy is improving from its lowest point earlierthis year, but that recovery may already be slowing down asCOVID-19 cases spike in parts of the U.S., according to the chiefeconomist for Jones Lang LaSalle.

Ryan Severino, who manages JLL's economics team, wrote in apost that indicators from theretail industry show, for the demand side of the economy, there aresteady improvements. He pointed to advance sales increasing by 7.5percent on a month-to-month basis after an 18.2 percent increase inMay, plus sale levels moving to pre-pandemic numbers from the startof the year.

"Sales growth registered strong gains across a variety of storetypes including clothing stores, electronics stores, and sportinggoods stores," Severino wrote. "Clearly, consumers released pent-updemand as economies reopened somewhat. Inflation data also indicatean economy heading back up."