US consumers increased their spending in March at the fastest pace in three months due to better weather and a pickup in income growth, the government said today.
While spending improved in March, the start of the US-led war left many consumers fairly cautious.
Consumer spending grew at a seasonally adjusted 0.4 per cent last month, up from a 0.1 per cent gain in February, a month when a series of winter storms helped restrain spending.
However, the latest report from the US Commerce Department showed the March increase fell short of private economists' expectations for a 0.5 per cent rise.
Americans' incomes also rose by 0.4 per cent in March - matching economists expectations - following a 0.2 per cent increase in February.
