New York (CNN Business) American consumer spending ground to a halt during the coronavirus lockdown, and that is a massive problem for the spending-addicted US economy. April's personal consumption data showed a 13.6% drop in consumer spending, according to a Bureau of Economic Analysis report released Friday. About two-thirds of America's economy runs on consumer spending, so this is yet another sign of an economy in a dire, pandemic-linked recession . Saving over spendingWhile consumer spending plummeted , incomes and savings rates soared last month. The PCE index is the Federal Reserve's preferred measure of inflation, because it is a broader price measure than the consumer price inflation index.

Source: CNN May 29, 2020 13:16 UTC