US personal income and spending blow past forecasts in April

Personal income and spending blew past forecasts even as a key measure of price pressures slipped.

Americans spent 0.4% more month-on-month in April, alongside an identical increase in their personal incomes, according to the Department of Commerce.

Both were just as expected by economists; but upwards revisions to the prior two months-worth of data meant the figures in fact came in well ahead of forecasts.

February's gain in personal incomes was marked up to reveal an increase of 0.5%, instead of the 0.3% gain initially estimated, while April's was unrevised at 0.2% on the month.

In parallel, the government revised its estimates for the gains in personal consumption expenditures for February and March by one and three tenths of a percentage point, to 0.1% and 0.3%, respectively.

The personal savings rate was unchanged at 5.3% of Americans' disposable income.

On the other hand, the deflator for personal consumption expenditures - the US central bank's preferred inflation gauge - fell from 1.9% year-on-year to 1.7%.

At the 'core' level, which excludes the more volatile prices for food and energy, the PCE deflator was ahead by 1.5%, versus a reading of 1.6% for April.

Prices of food eased back at a -0.6% clip on the year, up from -0.7% in the month before, while those of energy goods and services advanced at a 10.2% pace, less than April's 13.2% pace.