US consumer spending picks up in November

US consumer spending picked up in November after coming in at a tepid level the previous month, Commerce Department data showed Wednesday.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity, rose 0.3 percent last month after increasing at less than 0.1 percent in October according to revised data.

The data also showed that personal income rose by 0.3 percent in November, a slightly more modest rise than the 0.4 percent in October.

Both the personal consumption spending and personal income matched analyst expectations.

The data also showed a modest uptick in inflation. Core PCE prices, which strip out food and energy, rose 0.1 percent in November, compared with less than 0.1 percent in October.

Compared with a year ago, PCE prices increased 0.4 percent. Excluding food and energy, PCE prices rose 1.3 percent from November 2014, still a ways from the Federal Reserve's target of two percent inflation.