Consumer Spending Ended 2010 On Strong Note

NPR | By Mark Memmott

Published January 31, 2011 at 6:45 AM MST

American consumers spent 0.7 percent more in December than in November, the Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported.

Bloomberg News says the increase was "more than forecast" and caps the "strongest quarter in more than four years." The figure has been "seasonally adjusted" to account for the usual boost from the holidays.

For the whole year, spending was up 3.5 percent — the largest gain since 2007's 5.2 percent, the Associated Press notes.

Meanwhile, Americans' personal income rose 0.4 percent in the month.

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Mark Memmott

Mark Memmott is NPR's supervising senior editor for Standards & Practices. In that role, he's a resource for NPR's journalists – helping them raise the right questions as they do their work and uphold the organization's standards.

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