Consumer Spending Growth Slowed In March

While there was a solid-sounding 0.6 percent gain in personal spending in March from February, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says most of that increase was not "real."

That's because higher prices, especially on gasoline and food, were behind most of the rise. Adjusted for inflation, spending grew a much more modest 0.2 percent.

Reuters, though, notes that "the moderation in spending was not as sharp as economists had feared, suggesting that consumers were somewhat adapting to the high commodity prices, but could face a litmus test should gasoline prices shoot above $4 a gallon."

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