Personal Spending Rises 0.8% in June; Inflation Gains Slightly

August 31, 2006 11:00 AM, EDT

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onsumer personal spending rose 0.8% in July, the largest gain since January, the Commerce Department said Tuesday.

The upswing follows a 0.4% increase in June.

Personal incomes rose 0.5%, following a 0.6% gain in June, Bloomberg said.

Meanwhile, a Federal Reserve gauge of inflation rose 0.1% from the same month last year, less than economists had expected, Bloomberg reported.

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