Consumer Spending Rose Slight 0.1% in September
Consumers held spending in check in September and diverted some of their higher earnings into savings, the government said yesterday, adding to signs of slow but steady economic growth ahead.</br></br>The report reflected the sluggish consumer spending for the third quarter as a whole that contributed to slower economic growth in the period, as reported Wednesday.</br></br>Analysts said that while consumer spending was likely to pick up in the current quarter -- leading to a reasonably strong Christmas sales season -- the economy overall would probably remain in low gear.</br></br>Consumer spending on goods and services rose a scant 0.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $5.18 trillion in September, after a 0.5 percent advance in August, the Commerce Department said.</br></br>Incomes from wages, salaries and other sources grew 0.6 percent, to a $6.54 trillion rate, after a 0.5 percent August increase.