WASHINGTON – Consumer credit rose in December as consumers took out more non-mortgage loans, but the rate of borrowing slowed, according to Wednesday’s statistical release from the Federal Reserve. The monthly increase was slower than that for the full quarter, and the quarter’s was slower than that for the full year.
“Income is more than keeping up with inflation, and at this point the consumer may not have to dip into their credit in order to make these purchases,” Chris Rupkey, senior financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ Ltd. in New York, told Bloomberg News.
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U.S. consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 3 percent in December, slowing from November’s 6.9-percent rate. In dollar terms, total non-mortgage loans outstanding rose $6.01 billion in December, to $2,400.6 billion, after rising a revised $13.7 billion in November.
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 37 economists was for a $6 billion increase to follow the $12.3 billion rise in consumer debt originally reported for November.
In the fourth quarter, consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 3.75 percent, slowing from the third quarter’s 5.5-percent pace. For all of 2006, the increase was 4.5 percent.
The full statistical release can be found at www.federalreserve.gov.
