US spending slows.

Spending by US households and businesses stalled in November. However, a slight easing in price pressures left inflation at levels unlikely to make the Federal Reserve soon pause its aggressive campaign to raise interest rates. According to commerce department data released yesterday, personal spending rose 0.1 per cent in November from a month earlier. That missed economists’ expectations for a 0.2 per cent rise and was down from an upwardly revised 0.9 per cent jump in October. The slight increase in spending was accompanied by a series of other economic figures yesterday, including a slowdown in the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge in November and a muted growth in a popular proxy for business investment.

An index of consumer sentiment remained near a historical low, but its accompanying survey showed Americans were more optimistic about inflation easing in the year ahead. The personal consumption expenditures price index, which measures how much consumers are paying for goods and services, rose 0.1 per cent in November, the commerce department said, increasing the annual rate to 5.5 per cent. The yearly rate moderated to 4.7 per cent from 5 per cent in October, but that remains well above the 2 per cent level for which the Fed aims. Although those data suggest price pressures are not declining fast enough to make the Fed soon pause its rate-rising cycle, there were some signs that Americans are becoming more optimistic about the inflation outlook.

The S&P 500 was up 0.3 per cent at midday yesterday following the release of the latest economic data.

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