US personal income, spending rise in January

By Ovunc Kutlu

ANKARA (AA) - Personal income and spending in the US increased in January, coming in higher than market estimates, according to the latest data released on Friday.

In January, personal income increased by $9 billion, less than 0.1%, from the previous month, after rising 0.4% in December 2020, the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis report showed.

The market expectation was a 0.3% decline.

Personal spending increased by $337.2 billion, or 2.1%, in January from the previous month, higher than the market estimate of a 1.5% gain.

In December 2020, personal spending was down 0.8%.

The personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation indicator, increased 0.6% in January.

The core PCE price index, excluding food and energy, was up 0.5% from the previous month.

In January, the PCE price index soared 6.1% year-on-year, the biggest increase since February 1982.

The core PCE price index gained 5.2% annually, the largest increase since April 1983.