U.S. consumer credit rises at 1.5 percent in February

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