U.S. CONSUMER SPENDING Jumped 7.7% in the First Quarter
much higher than the 5.9% previously reported. GDP grew at a 5.5% annual rate, compared with the 5.4% estimated earlierFirst-Quarter Spending, Prices
Were Higher Than First Reported
WASHINGTON -- Prices and consumer spending were higher than previously estimated in the first quarter, according to the government's final tally of the period's economic growth.
The chain index for personal consumption expenditures -- a measure of price pressures on the economy -- jumped 3.5% in the first quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. That represented a slight upward revision from the 3.1% advance previously reported.
Consumer spending was sharply higher than previously estimated, however. Personal consumption expenditures jumped 7.7%, compared with the 5.9% gain previously reported. The latest increase came on top of a robust 5.9% advance in the fourth quarter of 1999.
Economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, came in at a 5.5% annual rate, just a tad higher than the earlier estimate of 5.4%. Economists surveyed by Thomson Global Markets expected GDP to stay at 5.4%.
The report also showed that businesses remain healthy, despite weakness in exports. Corporate profits jumped 5.8% in the first quarter, compared with the previously reported 4% rate of growth. In the fourth quarter, corporate profits were up just 2.7%.
Disposable personal income grew by 5%, less than the 5.5% previously reported. The personal savings rate was also revised downward, to 0.3%.
A WSJ.COM News Roundup Thursday, June 29, 2000
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