Personal Spending Rises 0.2% in July

Consumer personal spending rose 0.2% in July, while prices rose by the most in 17 years, the Commerce Department said Friday.

Incomes fell by 0.7%, the first decline since August 2005.
 
The spending increase matched economists’ forecasts, Bloomberg reported.

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