US consumers increase January borrowing

US consumers increased their borrowing in January at the slowest pace in more than a year with borrowing on credit cards actually declining for the second time in three months.

THE Federal Reserve reported on Friday that consumer borrowing expanded $US11.6 billion ($A14.92 billion) in January following a $US17.9 billion gain in December.

BAS Preparation services in Australia

It was the smallest monthly increase since borrowing rose by $US8.3 billion in November 2013.Even though the January increase was more modest than the gains over the past year, it still pushed total borrowing to a fresh record of $US3.33 trillion, an increase of 6.9 per cent over the past year.Borrowing in the category that includes credit cards actually declined by $US1.16 billion in January following a $US6.2 billion increase in December and a decrease of $US537 million in November.Borrowing in the category that covers auto loans and student loans rose $US12.7 billion in January after a gain of $US11.7 billion in December.During the past year, borrowing in the category of auto and student loans has risen 8.3 per cent while borrowing in the credit card category has risen a much slower 3.2 per cent.

This news is reprinted from site  http://www.news.com.au/finance/business/us-consumers-increase-january-borrowing/story-e6frfkur-1227252288794