• 591 days Will The ECB Continue To Hike Rates?
  • 591 days Forbes: Aramco Remains Largest Company In The Middle East
  • 593 days Caltech Scientists Succesfully Beam Back Solar Power From Space
  • 993 days Could Crypto Overtake Traditional Investment?
  • 998 days Americans Still Quitting Jobs At Record Pace
  • 1,000 days FinTech Startups Tapping VC Money for ‘Immigrant Banking’
  • 1,003 days Is The Dollar Too Strong?
  • 1,003 days Big Tech Disappoints Investors on Earnings Calls
  • 1,004 days Fear And Celebration On Twitter as Musk Takes The Reins
  • 1,006 days China Is Quietly Trying To Distance Itself From Russia
  • 1,006 days Tech and Internet Giants’ Earnings In Focus After Netflix’s Stinker
  • 1,010 days Crypto Investors Won Big In 2021
  • 1,010 days The ‘Metaverse’ Economy Could be Worth $13 Trillion By 2030
  • 1,011 days Food Prices Are Skyrocketing As Putin’s War Persists
  • 1,013 days Pentagon Resignations Illustrate Our ‘Commercial’ Defense Dilemma
  • 1,014 days US Banks Shrug off Nearly $15 Billion In Russian Write-Offs
  • 1,017 days Cannabis Stocks in Holding Pattern Despite Positive Momentum
  • 1,018 days Is Musk A Bastion Of Free Speech Or Will His Absolutist Stance Backfire?
  • 1,018 days Two ETFs That Could Hedge Against Extreme Market Volatility
  • 1,020 days Are NFTs About To Take Over Gaming?
  1. Home
  2. Markets
  3. Other

Personal Income Up But Real Consumer Spending Declines Second Month

The BEA's Personal Income and Outlays report shows personal income rose 0.4% but consumer spending rose a scant 0.1% in February.

The weak rise in spending is fresh on the heels of a weak 0.2% rise in January.

Personal Income and Outlays

Personal income increased $57.7 billion (0.4 percent) in February according to estimates released today by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. Disposable personal income (DPI) increased $44.6 billion (0.3 percent) and personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased $7.4 billion (0.1 percent).

Real DPI increased 0.2 percent in February and Real PCE decreased 0.1 percent. The PCE price index increased 0.1 percent. Excluding food and energy, the PCE price index increased 0.2 percent.

The increase in personal income in February primarily reflected increases in wages and salaries and rental income of persons.

The decrease in real PCE in February primarily reflected a decrease in spending for services that was partially offset by an increase in spending for nondurable goods.

Personal outlays increased $7.5 billion in February. Personal saving was $808.0 billion in February and the personal saving rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, was 5.6 percent.


Real Spending Down Again

If the Fed expected consumers to spend more because consumers are confident or inflation is up, they were totally off base. For the second month consumer spending was negative.

This report is likely to take a bite out of first quarter GDP estimates.

Yesterday, I noted the Third Estimate of 4th Quarter GDP Increased Slightly to 2.1% thanks to increased consumer spending. It didn't last.

 

Back to homepage

Leave a comment

Leave a comment