U.S. Consumer Credit Climbed by $19.3B in Dec. |
| Bloomberg - Feb 7, 2012 |
Consumer borrowing in the U.S. rose more than forecast in December, driven by demand for auto and student loans.
Credit increased by $19.3 billion to $2.5 trillion, Federal Reserve figures showed today in Washington. The gain topped the $7 billion median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and followed a $20.4 billion advance the prior month.
Consumers “are willing to take on this debt because there is some increasing degree of confidence in the economy,” said Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics LLC in Pepper Pike, Ohio, who projected credit would climb by $15 billion, the highest in the Bloomberg survey. “Consumers over the past several years have done a pretty good job of repairing their balance sheets.”
An improving job market may be giving households the courage to take on more debt in order to sustain spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy. At the same time, increasing dependence on credit may be an indication the gains in employment have yet to push wages high enough to single- handedly give consumers the means to keep shopping.
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- Posted: 2012-02-07 14:38:25
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