Consumer spending in January rose a scant 0.2% as Americans cut back after the holidays. And spending fell for the first time in a year if adjusted for inflation, the government said Thursday. Economists polled by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% increase in spending. At the same time, though, incomes rose 0.4% and after-tax incomes posted the biggest gain since 2012 in the wake of the Trump tax cuts. Real disposable income surged 0.9%. https://www.marketwatch.com/story/consumer-spending-slows-in-january-but-income-growth-and-inflation-speed-up-2018-03-01
The combination of higher incomes and slower spending boosted the U.S. savings rate to 3.2% from 2.5%.