U.S. consumer spending climbs 0.3% in March (by Jeffry Bartash)

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Consumer spending in the U.S. rose a slower 0.3% in March after a sharp increase in February, the Commerce Department said Monday. Personal income climbed a slightly faster 0.4% last month, mainly because of higher government benefit payments. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast spending to rise by 0.4% and income by 0.3%. Since incomes rose faster than spending, the personal savings rate edged up to 3.8% from 3.7%, though it's still near a post-recession low. Adjusted for inflation, disposable income (money leftover after taxes) increased 0.2% last month. The core PCE index, which excludes food and energy, also rose 0.2% and matched expectations. And revised data for February showed that spending rose 0.9% instead of 0.8% as originally reported. That's the biggest increase since August 2009, driven largely by a surge in auto sales.