U.S. consumers boosted their spending last month as incomes grew, a good sign for the sluggish economic recovery, the Commerce Department said Monday.

U.S. personal consumption rose by 0.8 percent in September, after a 0.5 percent gain the previous month, while personal income grew 0.4 percent last month, the most since March, the department said.

Last month, the U.S. savings rate, personal saving as a percentage of disposable personal income, edged down to 3.3 percent from 3.7 percent in August.

Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, increased 2 percent in the third quarter, according to the initial estimate released by the department Friday.

The overall economy expanded at an annual rate of 2 percent in the third quarter, while the figure was 1.3 percent in the second quarter. Endi

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