U.S. consumer credit rises at biggest pace in four months

U.S. consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 6.7 percent in March, the biggest gain since November, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

The brisk pace of growth followed an increase of 2.8 percent in February and pushed total consumer credit in March up to a record of 2.43 trillion dollars.

For the first three months of this year, the nation's consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 4.6 percent, slightly higher than the 4.1 percent rate registered in the final quarter of last year.

Consumer borrowing in revolving loans, a category that includes primarily credit card debt, surged at a 9.2 percent pace in March. That was up from a growth rate of 2.9 percent in February and was the biggest advance since November.

Demand for nonrevolving credit used to finance cars, vacations, education and other things, rose at 5.2 percent in March, up from a 2.7 percent growth rate 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 central bank's report showed that consumers boosted their borrowing even as energy prices were rising.

Source: Xinhua