Personal Spending Rises 0.8% in July

Consumer personal spending climbed 0.8% in July, the Commerce Department said Monday.

The increase, which was the biggest since February, followed a 0.1% decline in June.

The July gain compared with economists’ forecasts of a 0.5% increase, Bloomberg reported.

Personal incomes rose 0.3%, Bloomberg said.

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