<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published October 2, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>LATEST US DATA
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Consumer spending soars
It registers the biggest increase in nearly 8 years in August
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(WASHINGTON) US consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in nearly 8 years in August, but the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, indicating a weak labour market would weigh on recovery.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday personal spending jumped 1.3 per cent, the largest gain since October 2001, after a revised 0.3 per cent increase in July. Spending was up for a fourth straight month.
Adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.9 per cent in August, also the largest increase since October 2001, after rising 0.2 per cent.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 551,000 last week from 534,000 in the previous week, and more than analysts' expectations for 530,000.
Government data on Wednesday showed spending dropped at a 0.9 per cent annual rate in the second quarter after rising 0.6 per cent in the January-March period.
Personal income rose 0.2 per cent in August after rising 0.2 per cent in July, the Commerce Department said. This was a touch above market expectations for a 0.1 per cent rise.
Real disposable income inched up 0.1 per cent in August.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>Savings declined for a third straight month. Savings slipped to an annual rate of US$324.1 billion (S$458 billion), with the saving rate easing to 3 per cent from 4 per cent in July.
A measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve, the year-on-year personal consumption expenditures index excluding food and energy slowed to 1.3 per cent after a 1.4 per cent increase in July.
Meanwhile, construction spending rose unexpectedly in August on the biggest jump in housing activity in nearly 16 years, another sign the US housing sector is mounting a recovery.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that construction spending rose 0.8 per cent in August, much better than the 0.2 per cent drop that economists had expected. But July activity was revised to show a much steeper decline of 1.1 per cent instead of the 0.2 per cent drop originally reported.
Separately, a private trade group says the US manufacturing sector grew for a second straight month in September, after contracting for 18 months.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, says its index measuring the industrial sector read 52.6 last month. The survey came in at 52.9 in August - the first time it was above 50, indicating expansion, since January 2008. -- Reuters, AP
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>LATEST US DATA
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Consumer spending soars
It registers the biggest increase in nearly 8 years in August
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>(WASHINGTON) US consumer spending rose at its fastest pace in nearly 8 years in August, but the number of workers filing new claims for jobless benefits rose last week, indicating a weak labour market would weigh on recovery.
The Commerce Department said on Thursday personal spending jumped 1.3 per cent, the largest gain since October 2001, after a revised 0.3 per cent increase in July. Spending was up for a fourth straight month.
Adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.9 per cent in August, also the largest increase since October 2001, after rising 0.2 per cent.
A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance rose to a seasonally adjusted 551,000 last week from 534,000 in the previous week, and more than analysts' expectations for 530,000.
Government data on Wednesday showed spending dropped at a 0.9 per cent annual rate in the second quarter after rising 0.6 per cent in the January-March period.
Personal income rose 0.2 per cent in August after rising 0.2 per cent in July, the Commerce Department said. This was a touch above market expectations for a 0.1 per cent rise.
Real disposable income inched up 0.1 per cent in August.
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A measure of inflation closely watched by the Federal Reserve, the year-on-year personal consumption expenditures index excluding food and energy slowed to 1.3 per cent after a 1.4 per cent increase in July.
Meanwhile, construction spending rose unexpectedly in August on the biggest jump in housing activity in nearly 16 years, another sign the US housing sector is mounting a recovery.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that construction spending rose 0.8 per cent in August, much better than the 0.2 per cent drop that economists had expected. But July activity was revised to show a much steeper decline of 1.1 per cent instead of the 0.2 per cent drop originally reported.
Separately, a private trade group says the US manufacturing sector grew for a second straight month in September, after contracting for 18 months.
The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing executives, says its index measuring the industrial sector read 52.6 last month. The survey came in at 52.9 in August - the first time it was above 50, indicating expansion, since January 2008. -- Reuters, AP
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