Personal Income Slow to Rebound

Marketwatch details:

The savings rate for U.S. households fell in July to the lowest level in three months as spending outpaced income, the Commerce Department estimated Monday.

Consumer spending rose 0.4% in July while personal income increased 0.2%.

The report was mixed in terms of market expectations. Incomes rose less than the 0.3% expected, while spending was stronger than the 0.3% gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch.

Real (inflation-adjusted) spending increased a seasonally adjusted 0.2% in July after a 0.1% gain in June, led by a sizable increase in purchases of durable goods.

Real after-tax incomes fell 0.1% in July, compared with a downwardly revised 0.1% gain in disposable incomes in June. This is the biggest decline since January.

The savings rate fell to 5.9% from 6.2% in June, which was the highest level since June 2009.