Personal Income Up 0.5% in December; Spending Flat, Misses the Street
Data from the Commerce Department Monday showed US consumer's spending was unchanged for the month of December, slightly worse than a gain of 0.1 percent sought by economists. Personal spending for the month of November was up 0.1 percent.
Monthly personal income which rose 0.5 percent marked the highest growth since March of 2011. Economists were expecting a 0.4 percent rise in income for last month. The November reading was up 0.1 percent.
The strong growth in income drove the saving rate 4 percent higher, while wages and salaries only rose 0.4 percent during the month of December. Excluding inventories, income growth was about 0.8 percent.
With sales trending lower for the last few months of 2011, consumer spending for all of last year rose 2.2 percent, just above last year’s increase of 2 percent.
Get immediate access to market moving news and alerts with StreetInsider.com Premium - FREE TRIAL!
Monthly personal income which rose 0.5 percent marked the highest growth since March of 2011. Economists were expecting a 0.4 percent rise in income for last month. The November reading was up 0.1 percent.
The strong growth in income drove the saving rate 4 percent higher, while wages and salaries only rose 0.4 percent during the month of December. Excluding inventories, income growth was about 0.8 percent.
With sales trending lower for the last few months of 2011, consumer spending for all of last year rose 2.2 percent, just above last year’s increase of 2 percent.
Get immediate access to market moving news and alerts with StreetInsider.com Premium - FREE TRIAL!
You May Also Be Interested In
- Cree (CREE) Volatility Elevated as CFO Slide Continues
- Morgan Stanley (MS) Shares Pressured on Questionable Facebook (FB) Tactics; Hits Fresh 6-Month Low
- Corinthian Colleges (COCO) Bounces Off Intraday Lows into Close
Create E-mail Alert Related Categories
Economic Data, Insiders' BlogRelated Entities
Personal Income/SpendingSign up for StreetInsider Free!
Receive full access to all new and archived articles, unlimited portfolio tracking, e-mail alerts, custom newswires and RSS feeds - and more!
