Americans spent 0.7% more on health care in the first quarter

[WASHINGTON] American households spent 0.7 per cent more on health care in the first quarter, a Commerce Department report showed Wednesday. Spending on finance and insurance increased 0.4 per cent from the previous three months.

Data from the Quarterly Services Survey are not adjusted for inflation or seasonal swings. The Bureau of Economic Analysis will use the results, which provide a comprehensive breakdown of household purchases, to issue its third and final revision to gross domestic product figures for the first quarter. That report is due June 28.

The most recent GDP figures show the economy expanded at a 0.8 per cent annualized rate in the first three months of 2016, the smallest gain in a year, following a 1.4 per cent pace in the previous quarter. Consumer spending rose at a 1.9 per cent pace.

BLOOMBERG