U.S. real consumer spending fell in December for the sixth time in seven months as consumers saved what they gained from falling energy prices, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Nominal spending fell 1% in December, marking the sixth straight decline. This was in line with expectations of economists surveyed by MarketWatch. See Economic Calendar.
After adjusting for a 0.5% decline in prices, real consumer spending fell 0.5% in
December, a reversal following a 0.3% increase in November, the government said. It was the sixth decline in real spending in the past seven months. Read the full government report.
Here is a chart of the year over year change in PCEs.
Notice this figure has been in decline for over a year now on the above chart. That indicates there is a trend in place regarding consumer spending -- it is slowing in a big way. This is the worse trend in PCEs since 1961:
Consumer spending in the U.S. fell in December for a record sixth consecutive month, capping the worst year since 1961, a slump that is likely to persist as companies slash payrolls.
