Investing.com –U.S. consumer spending and core PCE prices rose as expected in September, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Commerce Department said that personal spending increased 0.5% in September from the prior month, in line with expectations and compared to a decline of 0.1% in August, that was revised down from an initially unchanged reading.
Consumer spending is the single biggest source of U.S. economic growth, accounting for as much as two-thirds of economic activity.
Personal income, meanwhile, rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in September, compared to expectations for 0.4% advance. That was after rising 0.2% a month earlier.
Real personal consumption advanced by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% last month, beating expectations for a 0.2% gain and compared to August’s 0.2% decline, that was revised down from an initial 0.1% decrease.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index rose 0.1% last month, matching expectations and compared to August’s 0.2% advance.
The core PCE price index rose at an annualized rate of 1.7% in September, in line with forecasts and matching the previous month’s gain.
The Federal Reserve uses core PCE as a tool to help determine whether to raise or lower interest rates, with the aim of keeping inflation at a rate of 2% or below.
Immediately following the report, EUR/USD was trading at 1.0946 from around 1.0952 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.2164 compared to 1.2176 previously, while USD/JPY was at 105.02 from 104.98 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 98.57, compared to 98.53 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a flat open. The blue-chip Dow futures inched up 9 points, or 0.05%, the S&P 500 futures edged forward 3 points, or 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 futures gained 16 points, or 0.32%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,273.55 a troy ounce, compared to $1,273.95 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $48.16 a barrel from $48.27 earlier