Consumer personal spending rose 0.7% in February, the Commerce Department said Monday.
The gain followed a revised 1.2% increase in January that was a percentage point higher than the 0.2% first reported.
The February increase topped economists’ forecasts of a 0.5% increase, Bloomberg reported. Personal incomes rose 0.3%, less than forecast, Bloomberg said.
The final three months of 2010 were the strongest quarter in more than four years for personal spending.
A rise in consumer spending could increase demand for new factory goods and the trucking shipments that get them to stores.
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