The weakness of real consumption growth in the first quarter is puzzling since the slump in energy prices effectively gave a large tax cut to households. In that respect, it appears to have parallels with the surprising resilience of consumption in early 2013. Back then, it was expected that consumption would falter as income taxes were hiked at the start of that year. Instead, consumption growth actually accelerated in the first quarter, before slowing sharply in the second.
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