U.S. Personal Spending Rose 0.2% in February

Americans increased their spending at a cooler pace in February, as the Omicron surge of Covid-19 eased but inflation remained high amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Consumer spending rose at a seasonally adjusted 0.2% pace in February from the month before, down from a revised 2.7% rate in January, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Personal income increased by 0.5% in February over the prior month, a pickup after it was nearly flat in January.

Annual inflation rose to 6.4% in February, using the department’s personal-consumption expenditures price index, the Federal Reserve’s preferred gauge. Annual core PCE inflation, which strips out volatile food and energy prices, rose to 5.4% in February.

In February, the wave of Covid-19 infections from the Omicron variant faded, leading consumers to boost spending on services like dining in restaurants and traveling by 0.9% from January, while goods spending declined.

Travel, both for leisure and business, has rebounded faster than expected from Omicron, airline executives said. Major U.S. airlines said earlier in March that their revenue in the first quarter of 2022 will likely be at the high end of what they had expected at the start of the year, or better.
Source: Dow Jones