Covid-19 impact: US personal spending plunged 7.5% in March amid shutdowns

US personal consumption expenditures (PCE) plunged 7.5 per cent in March (month-on-month basis) amid widespread shutdowns triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the country's Commerce Department reported.

This marked the sharpest drop in government records since six decades ago, according to a Bloomberg report.

Personal income decreased 2.0 per cent in the month, according to estimates released on Thursday by the Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Disposable personal income (DPI) also fell by 2.0 per cent.

"The decline in March personal income and outlays was, in part, due to the response to the spread of Covid-19, as governments issued 'stay-at-home' orders,"