Consumer Spending Drops For Second Straight Month - First Time Since 2009

Consumer spending in January fell for the second straight month for the first time since early 2009, as Americans paid less for gasoline and increased their savings. Consumer spending dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, the Commerce Department said Monday. Personal income rose 0.3% last month. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a seasonally adjusted 0.1% decrease in spending and a 0.4% gain in income. Since incomes grew faster than spending, the amount of money individuals save climbed to 5.5% from 5% in December. Also, inflation as gauged by the PCE price index decreased 0.5% in January. The PCE index has risen a scant 0.2% in the past 12 months. THe core PCE index that excludes food and energy, meanwhile, rose 0.1%, and it's up 1.3% over the past year.