Personal spending rose 0.2% in January as incomes fell by the most inÌý20 years, the Commerce Department said Friday.
The upturn followed a 0.1% gain in December and matched economists’ median estimate, Bloomberg News reported.
Personal incomes fell 3.6%, the largest decrease since January 1993. Economists’ had forecast a 2.4% drop, Bloomberg said.
A rise in consumer spending could increase demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores.