Economics
U.S. Consumer Spending Picks Up; Inflation Below Forecast
- Fed’s preferred core price gauge rises 1.8% from year earlier
- Consumption increase partly reflects household energy use
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Americans’ spending rose by more than forecast in October, giving the biggest part of the economy a solid start to the quarter, while a measure of underlying inflation cooled to the slowest since February.
Purchases rose 0.6 percent after a downwardly revised 0.2 percent advance, Commerce Department data showed Thursday. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey called for a 0.4 percent gain. Incomes increased 0.5 percent, more than projected and the most since January, partly reflecting government subsidy payments to farmers.