"The consumer is not going to be able to lead the recovery"
- Ryan Sweet, a senior economist for Moody's Analytics Inc.
U.S. personal spending rose last month, posting the biggest jump since February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported on Friday. Consumer spending rose to a seasonally adjusted 0.5%, compared to a 0.4% increase in the preceding month. Personal income added only 0.1%, so consumer had to use their savings to pay for their purchases, and, as a result, U.S. savings rate lowered to 3.7% from 4.1%.
"The consumer is not going to be able to lead the recovery," said Ryan Sweet, a senior economist for Moody's Analytics Inc.
"We're headed into a few months of soft consumer spending. Even though gas prices look like they may be peaking for the year, that's going to weigh on spending for the next month or so."
The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.45 per cent to 1,440.67. The Dow Jones Industrial Average erased 0.36 per cent to 13,437.13. The Nasdaq Composite lost 0.65 per cent to 3,116.23.
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