US personal spending fell a greater-than-expected 1 percent during the month of December, marking the sixth straight month of declines. At the same time, personal income slipped 0.2 percent to cap off the longest stretch of declines since November 1953 - January 1954. It is already clear that consumption growth took a heavy hit in the second half of 2008, as a 3.5 percent drop in personal consumption helped drag Q4 GDP down to a nearly 27-year low of 3.8 percent. However, in light of the sharper-than-anticipated slump in December spending, there is increased potential for downward revisions to GDP upon on February 27 (preliminary) and March 26 (final).
DailyFX provides forex news and technical analysis on the trends that influence the global currency markets.
Learn forex trading with a free practice account and trading charts from FXCM.
