Investing.com - U.S. consumer spending rose less than forecast in October, while personal income topped expectations, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, the Commerce Department said that personal spending inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, missing expectations for 0.3%. Personal spending rose 0.1% in September.
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 0.4% in October, meeting forecasts and after rising 0.2% a month earlier.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index was flat last month, below expectations for a 0.1% gain and after rising 0.2% in September. The core PCE price index rose at an annualized rate of 1.3% last month, matching estimates and unchanged from September.
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.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0581 from around 1.0587 ahead of the release of the data, GBP/USD was at 1.5086 from 1.5088 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 122.75 from 122.72 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 100.10, compared to 100.06 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher open. The Dow futures pointed to a gain of 60 points, or 0.33%, the S&P 500 futures indicated a rise 7 points, or 0.31%, while the Nasdaq 100 futures increased 16 points, or 0.35%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,070.70 a troy ounce, compared to $1,072.80 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $42.14 a barrel from $42.16 earlier.