Consumer Spending Slows in September
NEW YORK (
) -- Personal income unexpectedly fell in September while personal spending grew less than expected, according to latest data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Personal income dropped 0.1%, after rising 0.4% in August. Economists were expecting incomes to increase, according to consensus estimates from
Briefing.com
. Real disposable income, adjusted for price changes, decreased 0.3%.
Emergency unemployment insurance benefits which boosted personal incomes in August, fell in September. Excluding the impact of unemployment compensation legislation, personal incomes increased 0.1% in September, still lower than a 0.3% increase in August.
Personal consumption expenditure (PCE) rose 0.2% during the month, following a 0.5% increase in August. Personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income was 5.3% in September, compared with 5.6% in August.
Real personal consumption expenditure, which adjusts for price changes, increased 0.1% in September, compared with an increase of 0.3% in August. An increase in durable goods spending was offset by a decrease in nondurable goods expenditure and a modest increase in services spending.
The PCE price index, the preferred barometer of inflation for the
Federal Reserve
, expanded 0.1% in September, after rising 0.2% in August. On a year-on-year basis, the index rose 1.4% in September, according to preliminary estimates. Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the PCE price index increased by the slowest rate in 2010, up 0.9%, after rising 1.1% in August.
The Fed believes inflation
at current levels is too low and below its mandate for maintaining price stability. The central bank has indicated that it prefers inflation at close to 2%.
-- Written by Shanthi Venkataraman in New York
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