Personal consumption expenditures increased 0.2% in December after increasing 0.7% in November.
The consensus estimate called for consumption to increase 0.3%.
Real consumption rose 0.1%.
The increase in real consumption was due to a significant increase in services demand, namely from electricity and natural gas usage. The change in temperatures from a relatively mild November to a very cold December increased electricity and gas expenditures 7.3%.
Real goods expenditures fell 0.5% as nondurable goods consumption declined 0.8%. Durable goods consumption increased 0.2%.
Nominal personal income increased 0.4% in December, down from 0.5% in January. Real disposable income held steady at 0.3% growth.
The increase in income allowed consumers to push up their savings rate to 4.8% from 4.5% without the loss of consumption.
