WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Personal spending rose by 0.4 percent in March, twice as much as forecast and despite a cooling economy, while a key inflation measure was up by a bit more than expected, government data showed on Thursday.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast personal spending to rise 0.2 percent compared with 0.1 percent gain the previous month as the U.S. housing crisis chilled economic activity and pinched consumers.
The Commerce Department said that personal income was up 0.3 percent in March, slightly under forecasts for a 0.4 percent rise and after a 0.5 percent February gain. But adjusted for inflation, income stagnated after increasing by 0.3 percent in February.
The overall personal consumption expenditures price index rose 0.3 percent in March from a 0.1 percent increase the month before.
Excluding volatile food and energy prices, the core PCE price index, which is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, rose by 0.2 percent. This compared with forecast for a 0.1 percent rise after a 0.1 percent increase in February.
(Reporting by Alister Bull, editing by Joanne Morrison)
