The Commerce Department on Friday said U.S. consumer spending rose by 0.5 percent in August amid higher gasoline prices, Reuters reports:
The increase was the biggest in six months, but was largely accounted for by pricier gasoline. When adjusted for inflation, spending edged up a scant 0.1 percent after increasing 0.4 percent in July.
“Demand growth in has slowed materially in recent months, across household, business and export sectors. The risks to output growth in the near term remain firmly to the downside,” said Peter Newland, a senior economist at Barclays in New York.
