Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Trump Says No Summit Deal With Putin Over Ukraine War, Talks Were ‘Very Productive’

1 day ago

Madera County Man Arrested in Fatal Crash Case

1 day ago

Man Fleeing an Immigration Raid Dies After Running Onto LA Freeway

1 day ago

Kevin McCarthy, Redistricting Commission’s Popularity Stand in Newsom’s Way

1 day ago

California Man Safe After High-Tech Rescue From Behind Sequoia Waterfall

1 day ago

California Legislature’s Final Weeks Could Decide Delta Water Tunnel’s Fate

1 day ago

US Consumer Sentiment Weakens in August, Inflation Expectations Rise

1 day ago

Trump Names Rosner as Chair of Energy Regulator

2 days ago
US Consumer Spending Posts Big Gains
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 6 years ago on
April 29, 2019

Share

WASHINGTON — U.S. consumer spending surged 0.9% in March, the biggest gain in nearly a decade, as inflation pressures remain non-existent.

Incomes grew 0.1% in March while inflation rose just 0.2% and has risen only 1.5% over the past 12 months, far below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for inflation.
The March gain was the biggest monthly increase since August 2009, the Commerce Department reported Monday. That’s a marked improvement after three months of lackluster readings in this key segment of the economy. Consumer spending accounts for 70% of economic activity.
Incomes grew 0.1% in March while inflation rose just 0.2% and has risen only 1.5% over the past 12 months, far below the Federal Reserve’s 2% target for inflation.
The big jump in consumer spending is encouraging because it suggests that the overall economy had solid momentum going into the April-June quarter.
The government reported Friday that the economy, as measured by the gross domestic product, grew at a surprisingly strong 3.2%, helped by the March surge in consumer spending. However, economists noted that about half of the first quarter strength came from a big rise in inventory stocking by businesses and by a sharp narrowing in the trade deficit. Both of those gains were expected to be temporary and that could subtract from growth in the current quarter.

The Household Saving Rate Fell to 6.5%

The 0.9% March jump in spending followed a sharp 0.6% drop in December and tiny gains of 0.3% in January and 0.1% in February. The slight 0.1% rise in incomes in March followed a modest 0.2% rise in February and a 0.1% decline in January.

The 1.5% year-over-year increase in consumer prices was up from a 1.3% 12-month gain in February but still well below the Fed’s target.
With the big rise in spending and the small increase in incomes, the household saving rate fell to 6.5% of after-tax income in March, the lowest level since November when it was 6.2%.
The 1.5% year-over-year increase in consumer prices was up from a 1.3% 12-month gain in February but still well below the Fed’s target.
The absence of inflation pressures was a key reason that the central bank did an about-face this year and announced that after boosting its benchmark interest rate four times in 2018, it planned to be “patient” and expected that it would not raise rates at all in 2019.
That change has helped spur a big rally in the stock market as investors stopped worrying that the Fed was in danger of over-doing its credit tightening campaign and might drive the economy into a recession.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Do We Bridge America’s New Segregation?

DON'T MISS

Micky MaKenzie, Bold Pup With a Big Heart, Ready for a New Home

DON'T MISS

Trump Says Xi Told Him China Will Not Invade Taiwan While He Is US President

DON'T MISS

Melania Trump Sends Letter to Putin About Abducted Children

DON'T MISS

Category 4 Hurricane Erin Continues to Intensify, NHC Says

DON'T MISS

US Stops Visitor Visas for People From Gaza

DON'T MISS

Trump Says No Summit Deal With Putin Over Ukraine War, Talks Were ‘Very Productive’

DON'T MISS

Tulare County Man Guilty of Multiple Lewd Acts on Child

DON'T MISS

Sanger Police Arrest Second Suspect Charged in Juvenile Shooting

DON'T MISS

Pismo’s Manager Stuck in ICE Detention for Long Ago Teen Crime

UP NEXT

US Stops Visitor Visas for People From Gaza

UP NEXT

Washington Sues to Stop Federal Takeover of Police Department

UP NEXT

US Health Chief Kennedy Says No Plans for 2028 Presidential Run

UP NEXT

Redistricting Fight Continues as Texas Governor Abbott Calls New Special Legislative Session

UP NEXT

DOJ Sues California to End Enforcement of Emissions Standards for Trucks

UP NEXT

US Consumer Sentiment Weakens in August, Inflation Expectations Rise

UP NEXT

Trump Heads to ‘High Stakes’ Alaska Summit With Putin on Ukraine

UP NEXT

All National Guard Troops Sent to Washington Are Mobilized, Pentagon Says

UP NEXT

Trump: Journalists Should Be Allowed Into Gaza

UP NEXT

Why Young Americans Dread Turning 26: Health Insurance Chaos

Melania Trump Sends Letter to Putin About Abducted Children

10 hours ago

Category 4 Hurricane Erin Continues to Intensify, NHC Says

10 hours ago

US Stops Visitor Visas for People From Gaza

10 hours ago

Trump Says No Summit Deal With Putin Over Ukraine War, Talks Were ‘Very Productive’

1 day ago

Tulare County Man Guilty of Multiple Lewd Acts on Child

1 day ago

Sanger Police Arrest Second Suspect Charged in Juvenile Shooting

1 day ago

Pismo’s Manager Stuck in ICE Detention for Long Ago Teen Crime

1 day ago

Complaint Filed Against Judge in NW Fresno Luxury Apartment Case

1 day ago

Madera County Man Arrested in Fatal Crash Case

1 day ago

Fresno Two-Vehicle Crash Near Highway 168 Entrance Causes Traffic Delays

1 day ago

How Do We Bridge America’s New Segregation?

America’s democracy is under threat. President Donald Trump smashes alliances, upends norms and tramples the Constitution. So it’s normal to...

9 hours ago

3D illustration, Symbolic image on the topic of division, exclusion
9 hours ago

How Do We Bridge America’s New Segregation?

Micky MaKenzie, a bold yet sweet pup who loves belly rubs, car rides and playing with dogs of all sizes, is now recovered from surgery and ready for a forever home with his best buddy Sunny. (Mell's Mutts)
10 hours ago

Micky MaKenzie, Bold Pup With a Big Heart, Ready for a New Home

President Donald Trump holds a press conference following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
10 hours ago

Trump Says Xi Told Him China Will Not Invade Taiwan While He Is US President

U.S. first lady Melania Trump speaks at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., May 8, 2025. (Reuters File)
10 hours ago

Melania Trump Sends Letter to Putin About Abducted Children

Hurricane Erin, which is the first hurricane of the 2025 Atlantic season and has developed into a dangerous Category 4 hurricane, moves westward near Puerto Rico in a composite satellite image August 16, 2025. CIRA/NOAA/Handout via REUTERS
10 hours ago

Category 4 Hurricane Erin Continues to Intensify, NHC Says

United States Department of State logo and U.S. flag are seen in this illustration taken April 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
10 hours ago

US Stops Visitor Visas for People From Gaza

U.S. President Donald Trump goes to shake hands with Russian President Vladimir Putin, as they meet to negotiate for an end to the war in Ukraine, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, U.S., August 15, 2025. (Reuters/Kevin Lamarque)
1 day ago

Trump Says No Summit Deal With Putin Over Ukraine War, Talks Were ‘Very Productive’

A Farmersville man, Jose Martinez-Delgadillo, was found guilty on Wednesday, August 13, 2025, of multiple lewd acts on a child, possession of child pornography, and other crimes, and faces over 22 years in prison with lifetime sex offender registration. (Tulare County DA)
1 day ago

Tulare County Man Guilty of Multiple Lewd Acts on Child

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend