By Doug Barrett
Jan 31, 2021 9:33 PM
U.S. consumers slowed their spending by 0.2% in December, cutting back for a second straight month. The decline reported today by the Commerce Department followed a seasonally adjusted 0.7% drop in November. It’s the latest sign that consumers, whose spending is the primary driver of the U.S. economy, are hunkered down and avoiding traveling, shopping and dining out.
The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes declined slightly for the fourth straight month, but it was still a record high for December. The National Association of Realtors says its index of pending sales dipped 0.3% to 125.5 in December, an all-time high. An index of 100 represents the level of contract activity in 2001.