WASHINGTON — Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in July as Americans jammed auto showrooms to take advantage of the Cash for Clunkers program while avoiding other purchases.

The 0.2 percent gain in spending was in line with forecasts and followed a 0.6 percent increase in June, the Commerce Department said yesterday in Washington. Excluding cars, purchases were flat.

Auto dealers benefited from the Obama administration's incentive plan, which ended this month, while retailers such as Kohl's Corp. and J.C. Penney Co. struggled to lure customers shaken by mounting job losses.

"The Cash for Clunkers program helped auto sales but hurt other sales, which shows consumption remains weak," said Christopher Low, chief economist at FTN Financial in New York. "Consumers don't want to spend on other things and cannot spend, to some extent, because income growth is still anemic."

WHIRLPOOL TO CLOSE FACTORY IN INDIANA

INDIANAPOLIS — Whirlpool Corp. announced yesterday that it will close its refrigerator factory in Evansville, Ind., by next year and cut 1,100 jobs as it continues a push to trim excess capacity.

Whirlpool said it will move the production of refrigerators with freezers on top to a company location in Mexico, where they are cheaper to produce. Ice makers produced in Evansville will be moved to a yet-to-be-decided location.

The jobs will be eliminated in mid-2010.

COURT OVERTURNS FCC CABLE RULE

PHILADELPHIA — An appeals court overturned a rule that said a cable TV company could not serve more than 30 percent of the nation's subscribers. The verdict yesterday was a victory for the largest cable company, Comcast Corp., which has a 25 percent share and sued to block the rule.

It was an embarrassing decision for the Federal Communications Commission, which had already seen the cap rejected and imposed it again.

INTEL SAYS DEMAND STRONG FOR CHIPS

NEW YORK — Intel Corp. raised its third-quarter revenue forecast above Wall Street's expectations yesterday, citing strong demand for its chips and giving another signal that business is improving for one of the world's biggest technology companies.

Intel shares rose 4 percent.

The leading maker of computer microprocessors now expects sales of $8.8 billion to $9.2 billion.

Its last guidance, which came July 14, was for revenue in the range of $8.1 billion to $8.9 billion.