All the gas savings are ending up at the bank rather than being spent,” Thomas Costerg, an economist at Standard Chartered Bank in New York. Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, slipped 0.2 percent after falling 0.3 percent in December. The January dip reflected lower gasoline prices, which weighed on sales receipts at service stations, as well as drop in purchases of big-ticket items. With lower gasoline prices dampening inflation pressures, the so-called real consumer spending increased 0.3 percent after slipping 0.1 percent in December.