The markets were pretty dull yesterday, with the currency and metals markets trading within a fairly tight range. Data released yesterday morning showed that American consumers increased their spending by more than economists forecast in February. Purchases were up 0.7% for the month, the most since October of last year. But more than half of this gain in spending was due to higher prices as fuel and food prices continued to demand a larger percentage of consumers wages. Luckily incomes also climbed in February, though not as much as spending and below what economists had expected. Yes, the US consumer is going further into debt, just what the government wants, but not very good news for the long-term future of the US. Other reports showed that pending home sales increased just over 2% from last month, but were down 9.3% from a year ago. Today is pretty light on the data front, with the CaseShiller Home price index out this morning and consumer confidence numbers released later. Neither is expected to be much different than last month, and both will likely show that the US economy is still muddling along.