The U.S. Commerce Department reported on Aug. 30 that, as of end of July, U.S. consumer spending is still driving the economy, having outpaced economists’ predictions by surging 0.6% above June spending.
Economists had predicted a 0.5% rise in spending for July. While the solid gain is a positive sign, the survey also showed that income growth slowed down and inflation continued to be soft.
The July gain reflected more new car and truck purchases as well as an increase in dining out and bigger gas and electric bills during a hotter-than-usual month. Read about the survey.