U.S. Personal Income Increases 0.4% In August, In Line With Estimates

(RTTNews) - Personal income in the U.S. increased in line with economist estimates in the month of August, according to a report released by the Commerce Department on Friday.

The report said personal income climbed by 0.4 percent in August after rising by 0.2 percent in July. The advance matched economist estimates.

Disposable personal income, or personal income less personal current taxes, rose by 0.2 percent in August after coming in unchanged in July.

The Commerce Department said personal spending also increased by 0.4 percent in August after jumping by an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in July.

Economists had expected personal spending to rise by 0.4 percent compared to the 0.8 percent advance originally reported for the previous month.

Real personal spending, which excludes price changes, inched up by 0.1 percent in August after climbing by 0.6 percent in July.

The report also said the annual rate of consumer price growth accelerated to 3.5 percent in August from 3.4 percent in July. The modest acceleration matched economist estimates.

Meanwhile, the annual rate of growth by core consumer prices, which exclude food and energy prices, slowed to 3.9 percent in August from 4.3 percent in July. The slowdown also matched expectations.

The Commerce Department said personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income fell to 3.9 percent in August from 4.1 percent in July.