US Real Consumer Spending Edges Up 0.1% in February

2026-04-09 12:57 By Joana Ferreira 1 min. read

Inflation-adjusted US personal spending inched up 0.1% month-over-month in February 2026, following no growth in January, signaling continued caution among households amid high inflation.

Goods spending partially recovered, rising 0.2% after January’s 0.7% decline, driven by a 4.3% rebound in motor vehicle and parts purchases (vs. -4.2% in January).

However, other durable goods remained weak, and non-durable goods spending fell for the third consecutive month (-0.2%), weighed down by declines in off-premises food and beverages (-0.8%) and gasoline and energy goods (-0.3%).

Services spending also slowed to 0.1% from 0.3%, with softer demand for housing and utilities, healthcare, recreation, and financial services.



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