WASHINGTON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - U.S. consumers cut spending during October at the steepest rate in more than seven years, according to a Commerce Department report on Wednesday that underlined rising risks the economy was headed into a deep recession.
Spending plunged 1 percent, slightly more than the 0.9 percent decline that Wall Street economists had forecast.
The department revised prior months' spending data to show that October was the fourth straight month in which consumers reduced current-dollar spending, a significant loss of stimulus since consumer spending fuels two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
Adjusted for inflation, real spending fell for five straight months through October. The last time that real U.S. consumer spending fell for such a protracted period was over a five-month span from September 1990 to January 1991, the department said.
(Reporting by Glenn Somerville, Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)