Deloitte: Consumer Spending Largely Flat in February

""Deloitte's"":http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_US/us/index.htm Consumer Spending Index experienced a minor bump in February as ""a decline in initial unemployment claims and a rise in real average hourly earnings offset negative forces,"" the company reported Wednesday.

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The index, which tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future spending, rose slightly to 4.0 last month from a reading 3.9 in January. While the increase was relatively small, it turns around three straight months of declines.

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""The economic fundamentals that influence consumer spending are aligning,"" said Patricia Buckley, director of economic policy and analysis for Deloitte and author of the monthly index. ""Financial institutions and the markets are stronger, and consumer confidence and real spending appear to be weathering the 2013 payroll tax increases fairly well. Absent the uncertainty surrounding the impact of the sequester, an economic turnaround would likely be imminent.""

The index comprises four components: tax burden, initial unemployment claims, real wages, and real home prices.

According to Deloitte, the tax burden rose nearly 2 percent on a year-over-year basis in February to 11.29 percent.

Meanwhile, first-time unemployment claims continued to trend downward to 352,750, falling more than 6 percent year-over-year. Hourly real wages increased modestly over the past three months to $8.78.

At the same time, Deloitte reported a slight downtick in real new home prices. Prices fell about 0.5 percent on an annual basis to $97,925.