Consumer spending modest in March
By Jeannine Aversa Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) – Consumers, an important force shaping the economic recovery, spent modestly in March, helping the economy log solid growth in the last quarter.
The Commerce Department reported Friday that consumers boosted their spending by 0.4 percent last month. That followed another 0.4 percent increase in February, according to revised figures. February’s increase was double the 0.2 percent advance reported a month ago.
Americans’ incomes, meanwhile, also rose solidly in March, increasing by 0.4 percent. That came on top of a 0.5 percent gain in February. The increase was encouraging because income growth is a main factor in people’s willingness to spend in the future, economists said.
“With the March rise in personal income, there is a solid base of ready cash to fuel spending increases,” said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics.
The income and spending figures are not adjusted for price changes.
On Wall Street, stocks were mixed. The Dow Jones industrials gained 33 points, while the Nasdaq was down 3 points in early morning trading.
Consumer spending accounts for roughly two-thirds of all economic activity in the United States. Their behavior plays a major role in determining the strength of the economy’s recovery.
The rise in consumer spending in March wasn’t as large as the 0.7 percent increase economists were forecasting. Last month’s income growth, however, matched analysts’ expectations.
The economy grew at a solid 4.2 percent annual rate in the January-to-March quarter, a slight improvement from the 4.1 percent growth rate in the previous quarter, the government reported Thursday.
Consumer spending from January through March grew at a respectable annual rate of 3.8 percent, following a 3.2 percent pace in the fourth quarter.
In March, consumer spending on big-ticket durable goods, such as cars and appliances, rose 0.4 percent, following a 0.7 percent increase in February.
Spending on foods, clothes and other nondurable goods advanced 0.8 percent in March, double the 0.4 percent rise registered in the previous month. Spending on services went up 0.2 percent, after a 0.4 percent gain.
Tax refunds, an improved job climate and super-low interest rates helped to support consumer spending last month, economists said.
Since last June, a key short-term interest rate controlled by the Federal Reserve has been at 1 percent, the lowest since 1958. Fed policy-makers meet Tuesday and are expected to stay the course.
With the economy gaining traction and inflation picking up, however, some economists believe the Fed will begin to raise rates in August.
Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan told Congress last week said that the low rates must rise at some point to keep inflation in check, but he did not say when that might happen.
“I think they (Fed policy-makers) are softening us up to get us ready for a tightening this summer,” said Bill Cheney, chief economist at MFC Global Investment Management.
AP-ES-04-30-04 1045EDT