Consumer Spending Rises Scant 0.1% In October

Consumer spending rose slowly in October for the second straight month, as Americans boosted savings and spent less on new cars and trucks. Outlays rose a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, while personal incomes climbed 0.4%, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast 0.3% increase in spending and a 0.4% gain in incomes. The amount of money individuals save in September jumped to a three-year high of 5.6%. Inflation as gauged by the PCE price index edged up 0.1%. The PCE index has risen just 0.2% in the past 12 months. The core PCE index that excludes food and energy was flat%, and it's up 1.3% over the past year.