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US consumer spending up just 0.1 percent despite income gain

In this Tuesday, May 23, 2017, photo, employees assist a customer, at left, with a computer at Best Buy in Cary, N.C. On Friday, June 30, 2017, the Commerce Department issues its May report on consumer spending. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome) In this Tuesday, May 23, 2017, photo, employees assist a customer, at left, with a computer at Best Buy in Cary, N.C. On Friday, June 30, 2017, the Commerce Department issues its May report on consumer spending. (AP Photo/Gerry Broome)

By Associated Press June 30, 2017 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Americans enjoyed a healthy increase in income last month but didn’t spend much of the gain.

The Commerce Department says personal income rose 0.4 percent in May, up from a 0.3 increase in April. But consumer spending rose just 0.1 percent after climbing 0.4 percent in both March and April. The gap between the May increase in income and the increase in spending drove the U.S. savings rate to 5.5 percent, the highest since last September.

Economists monitor consumer spending closely because it accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.

The Federal Reserve’s favored measure of inflation fell 0.1 percent from April and rose 1.4 percent from a year earlier. That was the smallest annual increase since last November and fell below the Fed’s 2 percent target.