Personal Income and Outlays
April's Personal Income and Outlays data was posted early this morning, revealing a 0.4% rise in income and a 0.9% jump in spending. The income reading fell a little short of expectations, making it good news since consumers had less money to spend than thought. However, the rise in spending exceeded forecasts, indicating consumers actually spent more than predicted, despite less than expected income. The two readings offset each other, allowing us to consider the data to be neutral for mortgage rates.