US report mixed data as Europe shows more signs of recovery

US economic data on Friday were mixed.

Consumer spending rose 0.1 percent in July, down from a 0.6 percent increase in June. Income also rose 0.1 percent in July, down from a 0.3 percent gain in June.

Adjusted for inflation, consumer spending was unchanged in July.

A deterioration in consumer sentiment in August also suggests slowing in consumer spending. The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment fell to 82.1 in August, a four-month low, from 85.1 in July.

More positively, the Chicago Business Barometer rose to 53.0 in August from 52.3 in July.

Meanwhile, data from Europe on Friday provided more signs of recovery.

The economic sentiment indicator for the euro area rose to 95.2 in August, the highest in two years, from 92.5 in July.

Inflation slowed to 1.3 percent in August from 1.6 percent in July.

The unemployment rate for July was unchanged though at a record high of 12.1 percent.

In the UK, the GfK consumer confidence index rose 3 points to minus 13 in August, the highest in almost four years. Mortgage approvals rose to the highest in more than five years in July and the Nationwide Building Society reported that house prices rose 0.6 percent in August.