US Consumer Spending Rises With No Inflation Change

U.S. consumer spending rose in October, but still benign inflation pressures offered a cautionary note for the Federal Reserve as it weighs the future of its bond-buying program.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending increased 0.3 percent after rising 0.2 percent in September.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, to gain 0.2 percent in October.

When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending increased 0.3 percent in October, the largest advance since March, after gaining 0.1 percent in September.

That suggested a pick-up in consumer spending after notching its slowest pace in almost four years in the third quarter.

However, inflation measures mostly retreated in October, which could worry some Fed officials. A price index for consumer spending was flat, having risen by 0.1 percent for three straight months.

Over the past 12 months, prices rose 0.7 percent, the smallest increase since October 2009. The index had increased 0.9 percent in September.

via Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.