US consumer spending up 0.3 percent

Washington, April 30 (IANS) The US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) rose by 0.3 percent in March, the US Commerce Department said Monday.

The US savings rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, edged up to 3.8 percent in March, slightly higher than the 3.7 percent in February and remained well above the 2.1-percent average savings for all of 2007.

Economists say economic uncertainty has pushed Americans to save more of their additional income. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity, Xinhua reported.

The US economic growth slowed to 2.2 percent in the first quarter, a deceleration from the 3 percent recorded in the fourth quarter of last year. Real personal consumption expenditures, the major engine of the US economic growth, rose 2.9 percent in the first quarter -- the fastest pace in more than a year.