Following a 0.5 % gain in March, economists expected consumer spending to continue posting gains in April. Commerce Department figures released Monday unexpectedly showed no change in the reading for the month, while the savings rate increased from 5.2% to 5.6%. Bloomberg has some more details on the data, including the rise in disposable income, which was up 0.3 % after adjusting for inflation. Consumers continue to benefit from relatively cheap fuel prices, but appear to be using the savings to pay down debt or increase personal savings as opposed to spend it. [BB]
Consumers Saving Instead of Spending
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Related Topics:
Commerce Department
, Consumer spending
, Disposable income
, Fuel prices
, Personal savings
, US economy
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