US consumer spending and personal income posted solid gains in March with both notching their fourth consecutive monthly rise, a government report said today.
Consumer spending rose 0.4 per cent last month to $7.29 trillion after a 0.6 per cent gain in February, the US Commerce Department said. Personal income grew 0.4 per cent in March to $8.92 trillion following a 0.6 per cent increase a month earlier.
The moderate rise in March consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity, was good news for an economy emerging from a recession that set in about a year ago.
US GDP data released on Friday raced ahead at a faster-than-expected 5.8 per cent in the first quarter, with consumer spending growing at a healthy 3.5 per cent pace.
However, economists say that because consumers did not cut their spending sharply during the recession as they often do, they are unlikely to give the economy much of a boost as it recovers.