U.S. consumer spending rebounded strongly in January as the government doled out additional pandemic relief money to lowincome households and new COVID19 infections dropped, setting up the economy for faster growth in the first quarter.

Consumer spending, which accounts for more than twothirds of U.S. economic activity, jumped 2.4 last month after decreasing 0.4 in December, the Commerce Department said on Friday. Personal income shot up 10 last month.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast consumer spending rebounding 2.5 in January and income accelerating 9.5.

Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Alex Richardson

Source Reuters