The Commerce
Department announced on Friday that consumer spending in the U.S. jumped 0.4
per cent m-o-m in February, following a downwardly revised 0.3 per cent m-o-m drop
(from -0.2 per cent m-o-m) in January. Economists had predicted an advance of 0.5 per
cent m-o-m for February.
Meanwhile, consumer
income climbed 0.8 per cent m-o-m in February after a downwardly revised 0.7
per cent m-o-m surge (from +0.9 per cent m-o-m) in the previous month. This marked
the strongest monthly increase in consumer income since January 2024 (+1.4 per cent m-o-m). Economists had anticipated a 0.4 per cent m-o-m rise.
The February soar
in personal income was mainly due to advances in personal current transfer
receipts and compensation.
Elsewhere, the
personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, excluding the volatile
categories of food and energy, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred
inflation gauge, gained 0.4 per cent m-o-m in February, following an unrevised 0.3 per cent m-o-m increase in January. This represented the strongest monthly advance in the
core PCE price index since January 2024 (+0.5 per cent
m-o-m). Economists had forecast the indicator would increase 0.3 per cent
m-o-m.
In the 12
months through February, the core PCE price index surged 2.8 per cent, quickening from an upwardly revised 2.7 per cent (from 2.6 per
cent) climb in the 12 months
through January. Economists
had expected a jump of 2.7 per cent y-o-y.