(Bloomberg) -- U.S. consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the world’s largest economy, plunged in April by the most on record after the coronavirus pandemic halted purchases of all but the most essential goods and services.
Household outlays fell 13.6% from the prior month, the sharpest drop in Commerce Department records back to 1959, data showed Friday. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a 12.8% decline.
Incomes posted a 10.5% increase, contrasting with estimates for a decline, as federal economic-recovery payments were distributed, the report said.