After Big Gain In February, Consumer Spending Rose Less In March

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After Big Gain In February, Consumer Spending Rose Less In March

By Mark Memmott

Published April 30, 2012 at 7:00 AM MDT

A large 0.9 percent gain in consumer spending from January to February was followed by a more modest 0.3 percent increase from February to March, .

Personal income, meanwhile, was up 0.4 percent in March. It had risen 0.3 percent in February.

, the 0.4 percent income gain was better than expected and could bode well for consumer spending in coming months. And, it notes that the 0.9 percent spending increase in February was "the biggest gain in over 2 1/2 years." So some slowing in March might be understandable.

But, : "Monday's data suggested consumers ended the quarter spending less freely."

And since consumers purchase about 70 percent of all the goods and services produced, their demand is the economy's key driving force.

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After Big Gain In February, Consumer Spending Rose Less In March

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