U.S. consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 1.5 percent in February, the slowest pace since October, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

The February pace was down from a growth rate of 3.3 percent in January.

Data showed that demand for revolving loans, a category that includes primarily credit card debt, increased at an annual rate of 3.4 percent in February, up from a 1.7 percent growth rate in January.

Consumer borrowing in auto and other types of nonrevolving loans edged up at only 0.4 percent in February, down sharply from a 4.2 percent growth rate in January.

The 1.5 percent increase pushed total consumer debt up by 2.97 billion dollars to a record of 2.41 trillion dollars in February.

Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of overall U.S. economic activity and is a major force pushing the economy to grow.

The Federal Reserve measure of consumer borrowing does not include mortgages or other loans secured by real estate.

Source: Xinhua