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U.S. Feb. real disposable incomes up 0.1%
U.S. Feb. savings rate steady at negative 1.2%
U.S. Feb. wages, salaries up 0.4%
U.S. Feb. real consumer spending up 0.2%
U.S. Feb. consumer spending up 0.6% vs. 0.3% expected
U.S. Feb. personal incomes up 0.6% vs. 0.4% expected
U.S. core PCE price index up 2.4% year-over-year
U.S. Feb. core PCE price index up 0.3% as expected

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U.S. February Personal Spending Rises 0.6%; Core Prices Up 0.3%

By Joe Richter

March 30 (Bloomberg) -- Consumer spending in the U.S. increased more than forecast in February, reflecting higher gasoline prices that left Americans with less cash for other goods. A measure of inflation accelerated.

The 0.6 percent gain in spending followed a 0.5 percent January increase, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation rose 0.3 percent after rising 0.2 percent a month earlier.

Spending adjusted for price changes rose at the slowest pace since August, diminishing prospects for faster growth in an economy already weakened by the slump in housing, economists said. Elevated inflation gives Fed policy makers less room to maneuver on interest rates as growth slows.

``Spending may slow this quarter, but it will still be strong enough to provide support to overall growth.'' Douglas Porter, deputy chief economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, said before the report. ``Even though growth has slowed, we have yet to see inflation break lower in a meaningful way. Inflation remains an irritant for the Fed.''

Adjusted for inflation, spending rose 0.2 percent after rising 0.3 percent the prior month, the report showed.

Incomes in February rose 0.6 percent after a 1 percent gain a month earlier. January figures were boosted by bonus payments and gains from stock options exercised at the start of the year, the Commerce Department said.

Economists' Forecasts

Economists had forecast a 0.3 percent rise in spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy, according to the median of 74 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from no gain to a 0.5 percent rise.

The report's price gauge tied to spending patterns and excluding food and energy costs, the Fed's preferred measure, increased 2.4 percent from February 2006, compared with January's 2.2 percent increase. The last time the year-over-year rise exceeded 2.4 percent was in April 1995, according to the Commerce Department.

Fed policy makers, including Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, have said they'd be comfortable with inflation in a 1 percent to 2 percent range. The central bank on March 21 kept the benchmark overnight lending rate at 5.25 percent for a sixth straight meeting.

Because the increase in spending matched the gain in incomes, the savings rate held at 1.2 percent. A negative rate suggests consumers are tapping savings to maintain spending.

Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, rose 0.5 percent after rising 0.8 percent the previous month. Adjusted for inflation, disposable income rose 0.1 percent after a 0.6 percent increase.

Inflation-Adjusted Spending

Inflation-adjusted spending on durable goods, such as autos, furniture, and other long-lasting items, fell 0.1 percent in February, the first decrease since August. Purchases of non- durable goods dropped 0.4 percent. Spending on services, which account for almost 60 percent of all outlays, rose 0.5 percent.

Prices at the gasoline pump, which reached a low this year of $2.17 a gallon at the end of January, rose through February and March. Regular-grade gasoline was at a six-month high of $2.61 a gallon in the week ended March 26, according to the Energy Department.

Snowstorms and freezing temperatures may have limited shopping, economists said. Last month was the coldest February since 1994, according to the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, North Carolina.

Retail sales, which account for almost half of all consumer spending, rose 0.1 percent last month, less than economists had forecast, a government report showed earlier this month. Sales excluding motor vehicles and gasoline declined 0.3 percent, the most since April 2004, the government said.

Furniture Sales

Danbury, Connecticut-based Ethan Allen Interiors Inc., a furniture retailer, said profit this quarter will be below analysts' estimates because of a ``challenging'' economic environment. Economists said the housing slowdown will weigh on sales of household appliances and furniture in coming months.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke this week told the Joint Economic Committee of Congress in Washington that ``uncertainties have risen, and therefore a little more flexibility might be desirable'' on interest rates.

Bernanke said Fed policy is ``still oriented towards control of inflation, which we consider to be at this time to be the greater risk'' to the economic expansion than slower growth.

Consumer spending last quarter proved resilient to declines in housing and manufacturing. Purchases rose at an annual rate of 4.2 percent last quarter, after increasing at a 2.8 percent pace the previous three months, according to yesterday's report from the Commerce Department.

Spending this quarter is projected to grow at a 3.2 percent annual pace, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg this month.

To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Richter in Washington at jrichter1@bloomberg.net