Shoppers Take Break in June
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WASHINGTON (AP) – Individuals took a shopping break in June, boosting their spending at the slowest pace in nine months as high gasoline prices and fallout from the housing slump made people think twice about buying.
The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that consumer spending edged up by just 0.1 percent. That marked a pullback from May’s brisk 0.6 percent rise and was the smallest increase since last September. Incomes, the fuel for future spending, rose by 0.4 percent in June for the second month in a row.
The spending and income figures aren’t adjusted for inflation. The consumer spending figure matched economists’ expectation, while income growth was just shy of analysts’ forecasts for a 0.5 percent increase.
Consumer spending plays a major role in shaping overall economic activity. In the first three months of this year, it was consumers’ brisk spending that prevented the economy from stalling. However, in the April-to-June quarter, consumers were much more subdued.
