WASHINGTON - Personal spending rose 0.8% in July, the biggest increase since August of 2009, and personal income rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
The core PCE deflator, month-over-month, rose 0.2%, but a 2.8% rise in energy prices put the overall increase in the PCE deflator at 0.4%.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters expected a 0.3% rise in personal income, a 0.5% increase in consumption and a 0.2% rise in the core PCE deflator.
Revised numbers for June showed a 0.2% increase in income, a 0.1% decline in spending and a 0.2% gain in the core deflator.
The overall year-over-year deflator was up 2.8%, the largest since October 2008. The core deflator was up 1.6% from a year ago after a revised 1.4% increase in June.
The personal savings rate was 5.0%, down from 5.5% in June.
While consumers real disposable income, adjusted for inflation and taxes fell 0.1%, their real spending was up 0.5%, the largest increase since August 2009.
Wages and salaries rose 0.3% in July. Rental income increased 1.3%. Interest income fell 0.1% as market rates fell.
