Washington | US consumer spending was weaker than expected again in February while a key inflation metric picked up, in a double whammy for the economy before the brunt of tariffs.
Inflation-adjusted consumer consumption edged up 0.1 per cent, on the low end of economists’ estimates, after a slump in January that analysts mostly blamed on bad weather. Notably in February, Americans reduced spending on services for the first time in three years in the face of higher prices – including on dining out.
