The Commerce
Department announced on Friday that consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.2 per
cent m-o-m in April after
a downwardly revised 0.7 per cent m-o-m jump (from +0.8 per cent m-o-m) in March.
This marked the softest monthly
rise in consumer spending in three months. Economists had forecast an increase of 0.3 per
cent m-o-m for April.
Meanwhile,
consumer income increased 0.3 per cent m-o-m in April, following an unrevised 0.5 per cent m-o-m climb in the previous month. Economists had predicted a 0.3
per cent m-o-m gain.
The April rise
in personal income was mainly due to gains in compensation, personal income
receipts on assets, and government social benefits to persons.
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, moved up 0.2 per cent m-o-m in April, following an unrevised 0.3 per
cent m-o-m advance in
March. This was the weakest monthly increase in the core PCE price so far this
year. Economists had foreseen the
indicator would rise 0.3 per cent m-o-m.
In the 12
months through April, the core PCE price index soared 2.8 per cent, the same pace as in
the 12 months through March. Economists had expected a surge of 2.8
per cent y-o-y.