January Consumer Spending Surges, Saving Dips

By Andrea Hopkins, Reuters

U.S. consumer spending surged 0.9 percent in January, just below market expectations, as shoppers spent all their income and dipped into savings despite a pickup in inflation, a government report showed on Wednesday.

The Commerce Department said personal income grew 0.7 percent in January, the biggest gain since September and above Wall Street forecasts for a 0.6 percent rise.

But consumers spent even faster, notching the largest spending increase since July and producing a -0.7 percent saving rate. It was the third straight month in which Americans have tapped savings to finance their spending. The personal saving rate — the proportion of money Americans sock away — has not been above zero since March 2005.

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