By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Consumer spending in the U.S. fell in April by the sharpest amount in almost a year, likely because of slightly softer car sales and less demand for energy. Spending dropped 0.2% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department said Friday. And the increase in spending for March was revised down to 0.1% from 0.2%. Personal income, meanwhile, decreased "less than 0.1%" in April after a revised 0.3% gain in March, mostly because of lower rents and farm-related earnings. Wages rose slightly. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.1% decline in consumer spending in April and a 0.2% increase in personal income. The personal savings rate held steady at 2.5% and remains near a five-year low. Inflation as gauged by the core PCE price index increased less than 0.1% in April, and it's up just 1.1% in the past 12 months. That's the lowest level since March 2011 and just a notch above an all-time low. Overall PCE declined by 0.3% and is up a meager 0.7% in the past year. That's the lowest rate since October 2009.
