Real personal spending in the US, which measures consumer outlays adjusted for inflation, increased 0.1% month-over-month in January 2026. This marked the third consecutive month of 0.1% growth and came in slightly above market expectations for flat spending. The figures suggest consumer demand remained restrained, as elevated inflation continued to pressure household budgets, particularly following the holiday season.
Spending on goods declined 0.4%, driven by weaker purchases of motor vehicles (-3.2%) and recreational goods (-0.5%). Nondurable goods spending was unchanged overall, with a modest rise in food (+0.3%) offset by lower outlays on clothing (-1.0%) and gasoline (-0.2%).
By contrast, services consumption grew 0.3%, bolstered by increased spending on housing and utilities (+0.4%), health care (+0.4%), financial services and insurance (+0.6%), and other services (+0.3%).
