Consumer Debt Grows At Fastest Rate in 7 Months

U.S. consumer credit expanded at the fastest rate in seven months in June as Americans turned to their credit cards to keep up spending in the face of rising food and energy costs, a report Thursday showed.

AP

Credit card swipe

June consumer credit rose $14.33 billion, or at a 6.7 percent annual rate, to $2.586 trillion, the Federal Reserve said.

Analysts polled by Reuters were expecting a $6 billion rise.

May was revised to a $8.05 billion increase from an originally reported $7.78 billion rise.

Revolving credit, made up of credit and charge cards, increased $5.49 billion, or a 6.8 percent rate, to $968.35 billion in June.

This compares to a May increase of $6.07 billion, or 7.61 percent.

Non-revolving credit, which includes closed-end loans for big-ticket items like cars, boats, college educations and holidays, rose $8.84 billion, or a 6.6 percent rate, to $1.618 trillion.

This compares to a May increase of $1.98 billion, or 1.48 percent.