Consumer spending rose solidly in September, putting the economy on a firmer footing heading into the fourth quarter even though households had to pull back on saving to fund purchases.
The Commerce Department said on Monday that consumer spending rose 0.8 percent, the largest increase since February, after an unrevised 0.5 percent gain in August.
Spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity and last month's increase offered a strong hand off from the July-September period to the current quarter.
"The jumping off point, or the base point, is already pretty high. You have a lot of momentum going into the fourth quarter," said Ellen Zentner, a senior U.S. economist at Nomura Securities in New York.
The rise beat economist's expectations for a 0.6 percent increase last month. When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending rose 0.4 percent after edging up 0.1 percent in August.
Bond and currency markets showed little reaction, while the U.S. stock market was closed as New York braced for a hit from Hurricane Sandy.
The spending figures were incorporated into last Friday's report on third-quarter gross domestic product. Consumer spending increased at a 2 percent annual pace during the quarter after rising at a 1.5 percent rate in the prior period.
That helped to lift economic growth at a 2 percent pace, an acceleration from the second quarters' 1.3 percent advance.
Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/29/us-usa-economy-spending-idUSBRE89S0K420121029
No comments:
Post a Comment