http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22339995
US consumer spending in March exceeded the forecasts unexpectedly. It rose by 0.2% according the commerce department. However, its the slowest increase in a while and marks a 'slowdown' but still was unexpected. Most of the increased spending was on utilities which was due to the extended winter. Consumer spending has helped the US economy absolve a 2.5% annualized rate of growth in the first quarter. There are fears that the spending that had occurred due to weather will be reversed as it gets warmer.
The unexpected increase is definitely a positive sign, however I agree that it may have been due to the weather not necessarily other disposable income spending. The economy will reflect what is necessary, therefore the increase could almost have been expected.
ReplyDeleteThe increase in consumer spending caused by the longer than usual winter is coming to an end but hopefully the summer weather will promote higher consumer spending. Hopefully there will be an increase in consumer confidence that will lead to more consumer spending to keep the increase throughout the summer.
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