US Consumers Hit the Brakes While Goods Imports Sink by a Record

US consumers hit the brakes in April while goods imports plummeted by a record as companies adjusted to higher tariffs.

Inflation-adjusted personal spending rose 0.1% after rising 0.7% a month earlier, Bureau of Economic Analysis data showed Friday. Separate data showed an almost 20% slump in imports, leading to a massive narrowing in the US merchandise-trade deficit in April.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s preferred price gauge remained tame. The personal consumption expenditures price index, excluding food and energy, increased 0.1% from a month earlier. Compared with a year earlier, the so-called core inflation gauge rose 2.5% from April ...