US consumer spending in six month row

According to government data consumption expenditures fell by 1.0 percent in December from the previous month.

 Personal income also contracted for the
third consecutive month at 0.2 percent in December, compared with a
0.4 percent decline projected by analysts, the department said as
millions of Americans lost jobs and companies downsized to cope with
tough times. In November, income had shrunk 0.4 percent based on
revised estimates.

US savings rate could further rise, to
around 5.0 percent by the end of 2009, according to a forecast by RDQ
Economics.