US shoppers spent more and earned more during February and March despite the economic impact of the war with Iraq. The rise in consumer spending was slightly below expectations, while income was slightly stronger than market forecasts. Personal income rose 0.4pc in March after growing a revised 0.2pc in February.
Spending by consumers, which accounts for about 70pc of US economic activity, rose 0.4pc after rising a revised 0.1pc in February. Economists, on average, expected a gain of 0.7pc in spending but attributed the shortfall to the series of late winter snowstorms that struck the states of New England and the Mid-West. In March, the increase in consumer spending was led by the first increase in durable goods spending since December 2002. Durable goods spending rose 1.5pc in March. Spending on non-durable goods rose 0.2pc, while spending on services rose 0.3pc. //www.fxcentre.com