US income growth outpaced spending for the second month in a row in March, a US Commerce Department report released today showed, lifting prospects for consumer spending to help keep the US economy out of recession ahead.
The report said personal income grew at a seasonally adjusted 0.5 per cent annual rate in March, matching the pace seen in February. But spending on goods and services grew at a slower 0.3 per cent in the month, up from February's 0.2 per cent rate.
The numbers were close to what Wall Street analysts had been expecting.
Consumer spending, which makes up about two-thirds of economic activity, has been a mainstay of the current US economic expansion, which began its eleventh straight year in March. Spending rose at a 3.1 per cent annual rate in the first quarter, up from 2.8 per cent pace in the fourth quarter.