Consumers increased their borrowing by $13.8 billion in June from May, to a seasonally adjusted $2.85 trillion, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday in its monthly report on consumer credit.
The category that includes credit card use dropped $2.7 billion in June. That followed a gain of $6.4 billion in May. Still, overall credit card debt remained 16.5 percent below its July 2008 peak.
Borrowing for autos and student loans rose $16.5 billion in June. These gains have lifted overall consumer credit to record levels in all but one month since June 2011.
And since January 2011, the measure of student and auto loans has risen $312.6 billion. During that same two-and-a-half-year period, credit card debt rose only $16 billion.
The Fed’s report does not separate student loans and auto loans. But the Federal Reserve Bank of New York tracks consumer credit on a quarterly basis and its reports show that student loan debt has been the biggest driver of borrowing since the recession officially ended in June 2009, partly because many unemployed Americans have returned to college.
More credit card borrowing could bolster consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of economic activity. But many consumers have been hesitant to run up high-interest debt.
The economy grew at a lackluster annual rate of 1.4 percent in the first six months of this year. Many economists forecast that growth will accelerate to a rate of around 2.5 percent in the second half of this year, as the impact of higher Social Security taxes and spending cuts begins to fade. Hiring gains are also expected to increase consumer income, supporting more spending.
The Fed’s report excludes mortgages, home equity loans and other loans related to real estate.
