Investing.com - U.S. personal spending declined for the second consecutive month in January, fuelling concerns over the strength of the economy, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, the Commerce Department said that personal spending fell 0.2% in January, worse than expectations for a decline of 0.1%. Personal spending dropped 0.3% in December.
Consumer spending is the single biggest source of U.S. economic growth, accounting for as much as two-thirds of economic activity.
The report also showed personal income rose 0.3% in January, below forecasts for a 0.4% increase and after gaining 0.3% in December.
Meanwhile, the core PCE price index inched up 0.1% in January, in line with expectations, after holding flat in December.
The core PCE price index rose at an annualized rate of 1.3%, above forecasts for 1.2%, after rising at a rate of 1.3% in December.
The Federal Reserve uses core PCE as a tool to help determine whether to raise or lower interest rates, with the aim of keeping inflation at a rate of 2% or below.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.1224 from around 1.1231 ahead of the release of the data, while GBP/USD was at 1.5388 from 1.5389 earlier, while USD/JPY was at 119.84 from 119.76 earlier.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was at 95.22, compared to 95.16 ahead of the report.
Meanwhile, U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open. The Dow futures indicated a gain of 0.15% at the open, the S&P 500 futures pointed to a rise of 0.1%, while Nasdaq 100 futures advanced 0.15%.
Elsewhere, in the commodities market, gold futures traded at $1,215.30 a troy ounce, compared to $1,217.50 ahead of the data, while crude oil traded at $49.06 a barrel from $49.14 earlier.