Personal Income Slows Its Growth; Spending Is Flat
Dow Jones Newswires</br></br>Americans' personal incomes grew at a much slower pace in May but still eclipsed the month's flat spending rate.</br></br>Personal income rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 0.2%, after rising 0.6% in April, the Commerce Department said. Personal consumption didn't budge in May after climbing 0.6% in April, putting the savings rate for Americans at 0.6% in May, the first time in five months that it increased from the previous month's pace.</br></br>Economists blamed rising energy prices for weak consumer spending. Previous data showed retail sales dropped 0.5% in May, partly because of slumping auto demand.</br></br>But some analysts believe spending bounced back in June. "May was kind of a pause in an otherwise healthy trend," Robert McGee, chief economist at U.S. Trust in New York, said of the unchanged reading on consumer spending.