US consumer borrowing edges up
By Martin Crutsinger |
March 8, 2010, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
UNITED States consumer borrowing broke a record stretch of declines with a small increase in January as a boost in auto loans offset continued weakness in credit card borrowing.
The small gain, the first in nearly a year, could be a sign Americans are regaining confidence in the economy.
The Federal Reserve said last Friday consumer borrowing rose by US$4.96 billion in January, surprising economists who were looking for loans to drop by US$4.5 billion. It was the first gain after a record 11 straight falls and it was the largest rise since July 2008.
In percentage terms, the overall increase was an advance of 2.43 percent and followed a revised 2.23 percent drop in December.
The strength in January came from a US$6.62 billion increase in borrowing for auto loans and other types of non-revolving debt. That represented a 5.01 percent gain and followed a 3.69 percent rise in the auto loan category in December.
Credit cards and other types of revolving credit fell US$1.66 billion or 2.3 percent. Even with the decline, it was a much smaller drop than the 12.9 percent plunge in December. Credit card borrowing has now fallen for a record 16 straight months although the January decline was the smallest since July.
The second straight month of increases in auto loans and the slowing of the decline in credit card borrowing could be an indication that consumers are beginning to feel more confident about boosting their spending and increasing debt.
That development is seen as critical to providing support to the overall economy, which is still struggling to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s.
Some analysts said they believe consumer borrowing will stabilize in coming months and resume growing although they said the rebound will be restrained by the tighter credit restrictions imposed by many banks in the wake of the financial crisis.
"It's not just that people have become cautious about borrowing. Banks have become cautious about lending," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "But I believe that borrowing is going to stabilize and then start going up again."
The small gain, the first in nearly a year, could be a sign Americans are regaining confidence in the economy.
The Federal Reserve said last Friday consumer borrowing rose by US$4.96 billion in January, surprising economists who were looking for loans to drop by US$4.5 billion. It was the first gain after a record 11 straight falls and it was the largest rise since July 2008.
In percentage terms, the overall increase was an advance of 2.43 percent and followed a revised 2.23 percent drop in December.
The strength in January came from a US$6.62 billion increase in borrowing for auto loans and other types of non-revolving debt. That represented a 5.01 percent gain and followed a 3.69 percent rise in the auto loan category in December.
Credit cards and other types of revolving credit fell US$1.66 billion or 2.3 percent. Even with the decline, it was a much smaller drop than the 12.9 percent plunge in December. Credit card borrowing has now fallen for a record 16 straight months although the January decline was the smallest since July.
The second straight month of increases in auto loans and the slowing of the decline in credit card borrowing could be an indication that consumers are beginning to feel more confident about boosting their spending and increasing debt.
That development is seen as critical to providing support to the overall economy, which is still struggling to recover from the worst recession since the 1930s.
Some analysts said they believe consumer borrowing will stabilize in coming months and resume growing although they said the rebound will be restrained by the tighter credit restrictions imposed by many banks in the wake of the financial crisis.
"It's not just that people have become cautious about borrowing. Banks have become cautious about lending," said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor's in New York. "But I believe that borrowing is going to stabilize and then start going up again."
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