Americans kept spending in February — but just enough to keep up with rising prices, new data showed Thursday; however, the Iran war is expected to push costs even higher.
Consumer spending rose 0.5% in February, up from a 0.3% increase in January, according to a shutdown-delayed report released Thursday by the Commerce Department.
But when taking elevated inflation into account, spending rose just 0.1% from January, when it was flat.
Thursday’s report also showed that inflation remained stubbornly higher than typical: The Personal Consumption Expenditures price index – the inflation gauge the Federal Reserve uses for its 2% target rate – climbed