(BEA) Spending by US consumers fell in December, with total outlays down by $93.5 billion amid a 0.3% surge in personal incomes.
Disposable personal incomes saw an increase of 0.2% or $39.9 billion, while personal consumption expenditures declined by 0.6% or $95.2 billion.
Real DPI fell 0.2% while Real PCE shed 0.1%, with goods falling by 3.1%, compared to a gain of 0.1% in services.
Inflation showed robust gains, with the PCE price index rising by a monthly 0.4% and was up 0.5%, excluding food and energy.
On a year-over-year basis, the PCE price index rose 5.8% in December, the highest since 1982. Energy led increases at 29.9% as food posted a 5.7% gain.
The rising cases of Omicron and high prices are believed to be the deterring factors in December spending by consumers, with the impacts now seen pouring over to the first quarter of 2022.
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