Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Credit Keeps Steaming Forward

Consumer borrowing stayed strong for the second straight month in November, a good sign for the economy. The Federal Reserve reported yesterday that total consumer credit increased $22.1 billion in November. That figure is down only slightly from a $25 billion gain in October, which had been the fastest pace in 11 months.

This is the third month out of the past four in which total consumer credit has grown by more than $20 billion. That hadn’t happened in four years. Prior to these recent months, consumer credit had been trending around a $15 billion growth rate.

Revolving credit, which includes things like credit cards, actually cooled off a bit in November, rising by 5.5 percent after a 10.9 percent gain in October. On the other hand, nonrevolving credit, which is typically auto and student loans, picked up, rising 7.1 percent in November after a 6.5 percent gain in the prior month.

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