U.S. consumers hold off spending in December

U.S. consumers held off their spending in December 2015 although income continues growing.

In December 2015, personal income increased 0.3 percent following the same growth rate in the previous month, while the personal spending decreased less than 0.1 percent, compare to 0.5 percent growth in November.

As consumers became prudent in spending, personal saving rate rose to 5.5 percent in December, compared to 5.3 percent in the previous month.

The price index for the personal consumption expenditure (PCE), a gauge for the inflation level preferred by the Federal Reserve, increased 0.6 percent from a year ago. The core PCE price index, excluding volatile food and energy, increased 1.4 percent year on year, still below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target.

The Federal Reserve last week kept the benchmark interest rate unchanged, signaling concern that global economic and financial market developments could derail the U.S. economy.

In the meantime, Fed officials also expressed their concern over the low inflation, saying that inflation is expected to remain low in the near term. Enditem