U.S. personal spending rose 0.3
percent in April, more than expected, as a rise in incomes
matched the biggest gain in more than three years, a government
report showed.
The increase in spending follows a revised 0.5 percent gain
in March, the Commerce Department reported in Washington. The
0.6 percent increase in April incomes follows an unrevised 0.4
percent rise the previous month. Personal consumption spending,
excluding volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.1 percent.
Economists expect increased hiring and rising incomes to
help limit a slowdown in consumer spending during the second half.
Incomes rose 6 percent in the first three months of the year,
the biggest quarterly advance since the third quarter of 2000.
“Even though spending slowed, it’s still a respectable start
to the quarter given the jump in energy prices,” said James
O’Sullivan, senior economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Conn.
Bloomberg News
