Excluding food and energy costs, which tend to be more volatile, prices rose 5.2% over the same period. It was the fastest progress since April 1983.
For January, prices rose 0.6%, or 0.5% excluding energy and food, in line with economists’ expectations but at a faster rate than the previous month.
Steady entry but high prices
Friday’s data release shows that January was not an interesting month for Americans. While income did not budge, prices – and thus spending – rose.
This was the worst month for personal income since September, when it actually declined. Income available for spending rose 0.1%, also the worst performance since September.
The report also showed that consumer spending rose 2.1%, reversing the downward trend from December. In fact, it was the best month to spend since March of last year.
This is an evolving story. It will be updated
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