US consumer spending increases in May, jobless claims drop last week

U.S. consumer spending recorded an increase in May whereas the U.S. jobless claims dropped last week, official data showed here Thursday. The Department of Commerce indicated that personal income increased USD 69. 4 billion, or 0.5 percent, and disposable personal income (DPI) increased USD 57.0 billion, or 0.5 percent in May. It added that personal consumption expenditures (PCE) increased USD 29.0 billion, or 0.3 percent. In April, PCE decreased USD 39.6 billion, or 0.3 percent, based on revised estimates. Real disposable income increased 0.4 percent in May, compared with an increase of 0.3 percent in April, while real PCE increased 0.2 percent, in contrast to a decrease of 0.1 percent. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor indicated in a report that in the week ending June 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 346,000, a decrease of 9,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 355, 000. It added that the four-week moving average was 345,750, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week's revised average of 348,500.