US: Consumer spending hardly increased in February

U.S. consumer spending rose 0.1% vs. 0.2% estimate in February, the Commerce Department said on Friday. This monthly increase showed the smallest gain in six months, which also supports the view of an economic slowdown in the first quarter of the year. Yesterday, the GDP growth was revised up 2.1%, however, it was still a major step back from the fourth quarter expansion of 3.5%. The fact that the government decided to delay the issuing of tax returns to fight against fraud could have also played a part in the dismal spending figures.

On a separate report, the Bureau of Economic Analysis said personal income increased $57.7 billion (0.4 percent) in February while the disposable income (DPI) increased $44.6 billion (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $7.4 billion (0.1 percent).

• Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in February and Real PCE decreased 0.1 percent.
• The PCE price index increased 0.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2 percent.