US Feb spending rises while inflation cools: The Conference Board

01 Apr '24

1 min read

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Insights

US consumer spending rebounded in February and month-on-month inflation readings cooled somewhat from the January spike, The Conference Board noted.
Inflation-adjusted gains in disposable personal income stalled for a second month as savings fell and interest payments on debt rose.
The think tank is pessimistic about the sustainability of consumer spending.

US consumer spending rebounded in February this year and month-on-month (MoM) inflation readings cooled somewhat from the spike seen in January, according to The Conference Board.

However, inflation-adjusted gains in disposable personal income stalled for a second month as savings dropped and interest payments on debt rose, wrote Erik Lundh, a principal economist at the think tank.

“We remain pessimistic about the sustainability of consumer spending and expect a pull back over the summer,” he wrote.

Personal consumption expenditures rose by 0.8 per cent MoM (in nominal terms) in February compared to 0.2 per cent MoM in January.

After accounting for inflation, real consumer spending was up by 0.4 per cent MoM in February, with spending of goods rising by 0.1 per cent MoM.

Overall personal income rose by 0.3 per cent MoM (in nominal terms) in February compared to a rise of 1 per cent MoM in January. When factoring in inflation, the real MoM growth rate was minus 0.1 per cent.

In year-on-year terms, real personal income rose by 2.1 per cent in February from 2.4 per cent in January.

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