By Jeffry Bartash
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Consumer spending barely rose in July, the first month of the third quarter, indicating little change in the U.S. economy's mild pace of growth. Spending edged up 0.1% last month on a seasonally adjusted basis, the Commerce Department said Friday. Personal income also rose 0.1%. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast a 0.3% advance in spending and a 0.1% gain in personal income. Since incomes and spending rose at the same clip, the personal savings rate held steady at 4.4%. Inflation as gauged by the core PCE price index increased 0.1% in July in another sign that price pressures were still being held in check. In June, meanwhile, the increase in spending was revised up a tick to 0.6%, based on new information collected by the government.
