U.S. consumer spending extended gains into July and inflation rose to a six-year high, reflecting economic strength that should keep Federal Reserve policy makers on track to keep gradually raising interest rates.
Purchases, which account for about 70 percent of the economy, rose 0.4 percent from the prior month for the second straight time, matching economists’ estimates, Commerce Department figures showed Thursday. Incomes advanced 0.3 percent, less than projected. The Federal Reserve’s preferred measure of inflation ticked up, as forecast, to a 2.3 percent annual gain, the most since 2012.
(H/T: Bloomberg)
