U.S. consumer spending rebounded in January rose for the first time in six months, boosted by salary increases for government employees, a government report showed on Monday. The Commerce Department said spending rose 0.6 percent, the largest increase since May, after falling an unrevised 1 percent in December, and beating economists' expectations for a 0.4 percent advance. According to the Commerce Department, U.S. incomes rose 0.4 percent. Economists expected a 0.2 percent decline. The unexpectedly good news came on the heels of a report last week showing the U.S. economy shrank at a 6.2 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, the deepest contraction since early 1982. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity, declined at 4.3 percent rate in the fourth quarter, the biggest drop since the second quarter of 1980.
