May consumer spending flat, weakest in almost year (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Consumer spending was flat in May, the weakest reading since June 2010, the Commerce Department reported Monday. Personal income rose 0.3%. Wall Street economists had expected a 0.3% increase in incomes and a 0.1% gain in spending. The savings rate rose to 5.0% from 4.9% in April. Excluding inflation, disposable incomes rose 0.1 in May after falling 0.1% in April. Spending adjusted-for-inflation fell 0.1% for the second straight month. The personal consumption expenditure price index rose 0.2% in May and is up 2.5% in the past year. The core rate rose 0.3% in May, up from the 0.2% gain forecast and the biggest gain since October 2009. Over the past year, core inflation is running at a 1.2% rate, still below the Fed's implicit target near 2%.