Personal Spending Rises 0.4% in June; Inflation Rises

August 1, 2006 10:00 AM, EDT

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onsumer personal spending rose 0.4% in June, the smallest gain this year, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The increase followed a 0.6% gain in May and matched economists’ estimates, Bloomberg reported.

ersonal incomes rose 0.6%, also matching economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg said.

Meanwhile, a Federal Reserve gauge of inflation rose 2.4% from the same month last year, the highest gain since September 2002, Bloomberg reported.

An increase in consumer spending could increase demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores.