US consumers loosen the Christmas purse strings

US consumer spending picked up in November as households loosened their purse strings at the start of the holiday shopping season, boosting prospects for fourth-quarter growth.

Spending rose by 0.3% last month after holding steady in October, according to data from the Commerce Department.

The release of the figures more than 12 hours ahead of schedule by the department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis marked a rare instance of market-sensitive government economic data becoming public early.