Income, Spending and Prices Are on the Rise, Says Commerce Department

The likelihood of an interest-rate increase from the Federal Reserve grew today with the release of October’s consumer spending and personal income numbers from the United States Commerce Department.

The Commerce Department also said that consumer spending in October increased 0.3 percent, following an increase of 0.7 percent in September. Incomes rose 0.6 percent, which is the best they’ve done since April of this year.

Of particular significance to interest rates is the rise in the price of consumer goods, a key inflation-gauge for the Fed’s rate-setters; it increased 1.4 percent over October of last year, which is the largest one-year jump since 2014.