Companies love that, because it will increase reported earnings.
The increase, reported by the Commerce Department, followed a 2.2percentt decline in September.
The figure was revised upward from a 3.4percentt increase reported on April 23.
Consumer spending grew at a lukewarm pace of 2.8percentt in the third quarter, after a 2.7percentt increase reported a month ago.
That annual gain is still smaller than the 7.8percentt increase reported in the year through January, a figure that was the highest in a quarter century.
Over all, donations to the top 400 charities rose 13percentt from 1999 to 2000, the same rate of increase reported the previous year.
According to the AA Insurance, UK personal motor rates rose by just 0.2% in the fourth quarter 2014, a slowdown compared to the 1.3% increase reported in the third quarter.
The price increases in Chinese products were not matched by those from Japan, but even the 1percentt increase reported for Japanese goods was the fastest rate of inflation in more than three years.
Orders for durable goods, those intended to last at least three years, rose 2.9percentt in January, a smaller gain than the 3.3percentt increase reported in advance data on durable goods released last week.
That was lower than the 9.8percentt increase reported for 1999, but analysts said Best Buy managed to show growth even as personal computer sales fell and other retailers stumbled.
The bureau also revised downward its estimate of job growth in August, to 128,000 from the 144,000 increase reported earlier, and increased July's figure to 85,000 from 73,000.
