US Personal Spending Rises on Strong Services Demand
2026-03-13 12:36
By
Joana Ferreira
1 min. read
US personal spending increased 0.4% month-over-month in January 2026, or $81.1 billion, matching December’s pace and slightly beating market expectations of 0.3%.
The increase was primarily driven by higher services spending, which rose $105.7 billion, led by health care (+$37.4 billion), housing and utilities (+$24.4 billion), financial services and insurance (+$16.0 billion), nonprofit institutions’ expenditures (+$14.8 billion), and other services (+$11.0 billion).
In contrast, goods spending declined by $24.6 billion, pulled down by lower purchases of motor vehicles and parts (-$29.3 billion), gasoline and other energy goods (-$15.3 billion), and clothing and footwear (-$3.4 billion).
Still, inflation-adjusted consumer spending increased only 0.1%.