WASHINGTON — Personal income and spending was slower than expected in July, while 0.1% gains in the overall and core price indexes kept the year/year rates for inflation growth the same as in the previous month, data released by the Commerce Department Friday morning showed.
Personal income rose 0.2% in the month, slower than the 0.3% rise expected in an MNI survey of economists. There were gains reported in every major income category except a $2.7 billion, or 0.2%, decline in proprietors' income. Wages and salaries rose 0.2% in the month following a 0.4% rise in June.
Disposable personal income rose 0.1% in the month, both before and after adjustment for price changes.
The saving rate rose to 5.7% in July from 5.4% in June.
Current dollar personal consumption expenditures fell 0.1% in July, compared with expectations for a 0.1% increase, after solid gains in the previous five months. Spending on durable goods fell 0.7% in the month, which the Commerce Department attributed to motor vehicle sales. Nondurable goods spending was down 0.1%, while services spending was flat.
Real PCE fell 0.2% in July after rising 0.2% in June. There was a similar pattern of contributions for real PCE as there was for nominal PCE, with a 0.6% decline in durable goods PCE, a 0.2% decline in nondurable goods PCE, and a 0.1% decline in services PCE.
Real PCE was down 0.2% in July at an annual rate from the second quarter average, according to an MNI calculation. Real PCE rose at a 2.5% annual rate in the second quarter, according to data released on Thursday.
The PCE price index was up 0.1% in July after 0.2 gains in the previous four months, keeping the year/year rate of growth at 1.6%, the same as in June, but still higher than 1.2% at the start of the year.
The core price index was also up 0.1% in July, the same as most months in 2014. The July index was up 1.5% from July 2013, the same 12 month growth pace as in May and June, but again higher than earlier in the year.
The core PCE price index was up 1.5% at an annual rate from the second quarter average. The core PCE price index was reported up 2.0% in the second quarter GDP data released Thursday.
Market News International is a real-time global news service for fixed-income and foreign exchange market professionals. See
