Consumer spending climbs 0.3% in May

Consumer spending climbs 0.3% in May

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose 0.3% in May and personal incomes rose even faster, the government said Thursday. The increase in spending last month mostly reverses a 0.3% decline in April, which had been the biggest drop in four years. Personal income climbed 0.5% as wages, investment income and payments for entitlements like Social Security all rose at seasonally adjusted annual rates. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% advance in spending and a 0.2% gain in personal income. Since incomes rose faster than spending, the individual savings rate moved up to 3.2% from 3% to mark the highest level since December. Inflation as gauged by the core PCE price index increased 0.1%, the Commerce Department said, and it's up a scant 1.1% over the past 12 months. The overall PCE index also rose 0.1%.