Consumers Saved Hundreds From Low Gas Prices in 2015: JPMorgan Chase Report

Middle income households spent $477 less on gasoline in 2015, thanks to the 25 percent year-over-year slump in gas prices, according to a new report. 'It's quite significant,' said Diana Farrell, president and CEO of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, which authored the study, tapping into a sample of one million Chase customers in 23 states. 'For most households, it's one percent of their income and that's a pretty significant raise and for the lower income households [this figure] represents 1.4 percent more disposable income.' The $477 figure amounts to half of the average mortgage or rent payment for middle-income consumers, the report said. '[They spent this money] on more gas, which reverses a five-year trend of people spending less on gas and driving less,' Farrell said. Aside from driving more, households spent $214, or 45 percent of the drop in gas spending on non-gas goods and services, largely restaurants and retail. This is in-line with a recent consumer trend showing consumers raising their spending on experiences, rather than tangible goods, according to Farrell. TheStreet's Scott Gamm reports from Wall Street.