Consumer spending rose at the strongest pace in four months in July, supported by a small gain in incomes that offered hope consumers will be able to keep contributing to a modest recovery, Reuters reported after the release of a government report.

The U.S. Commerce Department report said spending increased 0.4 percent, the largest gain since March, after being unchanged in June. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected consumer spending to rise 0.3 percent.

“On the real wage side, you had a good bump that’s a sign that income is recovering from the recession. On the spending side, the quarter is off to a solid start,” said John Canally, an economist at LPL Financial in Boston.

The income and spending report was a relief after a raft of weak data for July that had fueled fears economic growth might continue to slow during the third quarter, Reuters said.

On Aug. 27, the government lowered second-quarter gross domestic product growth estimates to a 1.6 percent annual rate from 2.4 percent.

Consumer spending, which normally accounts for 70 percent of U.S. economic activity, is being dampened by stubbornly high unemployment. On Friday, a report on the gross domestic product report showed spending increased at a 2 percent rate in the second quarter, up from an earlier estimate of 1.6 percent.

The Commerce Department said spending adjusted for inflation increased 0.2 percent last month after edging up 0.1 percent in June. Real spending on goods rebounded 0.4 percent, while expenditure on services increased 0.2 percent.

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