Incomes of U.S. citizens fell in July, while consumer spending was up slightly, reflecting the waning impact of President Bush's economic stimulus package, according to a report from the Department of Commerce.
Personal incomes fell 0.7% in July, marking the sharpest decline since incomes dropped 2.3% in August 2005, after the economy took a hit from Hurricane Katrina.
Consumer spending increased 0.2%, marking the smallest increase since February.
That followed increases of 0.8% and 0.6% in May and June, respectively.
Personal-consumption expenditures, a measure of price changes in consumer goods and services, fell 0.4% in July, marking the largest decrease since June 2004 and followed a 0.1% decrease in June.
Compared with the previous year, personal-consumption expenditures rose 4.5%.
The core personal-consumption-expenditure rate, which excludes food and energy costs, increased 2.4% in July, following a 0.3% increase in June.
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