Income and Spending Go Flat to Negative

“U.S. consumer spending fell in October for the first time in five months as income growth stalled, suggesting slower economic growth in the fourth quarter.

The Commerce Department said on Friday consumer spending fell 0.2 percent after an unrevised 0.8 percent rise in September.

It said it could not quantify the impact ofSuperstorm Sandy, but added it made adjustments where source data was not yet available or did not reflect the effects of the storm.

Though the storm, which slammed the East Coast in late October, put a brake on automobile sales, the drop in spending last month was in part a reflection of the weak economic fundamentals.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, would be flat last month.

When adjusted for inflation, consumer spending fell 0.3 percent, the first decline since June, after rising 0.4 percent the prior month.

It was also the largest decline since September 2009 and implied growth in consumer spending this quarter would struggle to exceed the third-quarter’s 1.4 percent annual pace, which was the slowest in more than a year.”

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