People may have been earning more money in March, but they weren’t spending it fast enough.

Personal spending grew only 0.3 percent last month, after increasing by 0.7 percent in February, the Commerce Department said. After adjusting for gas price increases, consumer spending—a main engine of economic growth—actually fell by 0.2 percent in March, its weakest performance since the fall of 2005.

Economists had forecast an optimistic 0.5 percent rise in spending, according to Bloomberg News.

The slowdown suggests that the weaker housing market and higher energy costs are beginning to weigh on consumers.

Personal income increased at a seasonally adjusted rate of 0.7 percent for second month running, beating economists’ estimates by 0.1 percent.

At the same time, an index of personal consumption expenditures—a key measure of inflation watched closely by the Federal Reserve—was up 2.1 percent over the past 12 months, compared with a 2.4 percent rise over the prior 12-month period ending in February.

The Associated Press said that the slower inflation suggested by these figures supports the Federal Reserve's position that its 17 consecutive interest rate increases from June 2004 to June 2006 will be enough to keep inflation under control. The Fed hasn't raised rates since then, expecting the effects of previous increases to trickle down through the economy. According to A.P., the widespread view is that the Fed will leave rates unchanged once again when it meets next week.