In the US, consumer spending has increased significantly. They increased by 2.1 percent in January compared to the previous month, as the Commerce Department announced on Friday. Experts had expected an increase of 1.6 percent. Private income, on the other hand, stagnated, while analysts had expected a slight decline.
The upward trend in prices also intensified in the new year. The PCE price index, which is based on consumer spending, rose by 6.1 percent year-on-year in January, slightly more than experts had expected. In the previous month, the annual rate was 5.8 percent.
The US Federal Reserve prefers the PCE to the more familiar CPI. The latter is usually higher. In January, the inflation rate here was 7.5 percent. The Fed no longer views higher inflation as temporary. The market is firmly expecting the first interest rate hike in the pandemic in March. (dpa)