US consumer spending falls in January; monthly inflation rises
inflation could provide cover for the Federal Reserve to delay cutting interest rates for some time.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, dropped 0.2% last month after an upwardly revised 0.8% increase in December, the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending gaining 0.1% after a previously reported 0.7% surge in December, when outlays were boosted by pre-emptive buying in anticipation of tariffs which would raise prices for imported goods.
January's weak consumer spending likely reflected the fading lift from front-running as well as a drag from unseasonably cold temperatures and snowstorms that engulfed large parts of the country. Wildfires, which scorched areas of Los Angeles, also probably hurt spending.
Winter storms disrupted homebuilding last month and contributed to curbing job growth. The data are consistent with expectations for a slowdown in economic growth in the first quarter. Gross domestic product estimates for the January-March quarter are mostly below a 2.0% annualized rate. The economy grew at a 2.3% rate in the fourth quarter.
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