Personal income held steady in April following March's 0.5% gain, below an expected 0.4% gain in a survey conducted by Bloomberg.
Personal consumption expenditures were up 0.5%, as expected after 1.0% gain in March. After adjustment for inflation, real PCE rose by 0.1% after a 0.3% increase in March, as expected.
The PCE price index rose by 0.4%, below the 0.5% gain expected, lifting the year-over-year rate to 3.8% from 3.5%. The price index rose by 0.7% month-over-month in March.
The core PCE price index increased by 0.2%, below the 0.3% gain expected and following a 0.3% gain in March. The year-over-year rate accelerated modestly to 3.3% from 3.2% in the previous month.
The monthly report on personal income and spending is released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis about one month after the period it is measuring. Personal income is broken down into various categories, with wages making up the largest portion. Spending is reported in two ways-before and after adjustment for inflation movements.
The price measures in the report are closely watched by the Federal Reserve, particularly the year-over-year. Faster consumption growth is usually a positive for stocks but combined with soft income readings could suggest consumers are overextending. Bonds are sensitive to the price measures if the pace is above the Federal Reserve's 2% target.