Published on Friday, March 05, 2010
By Daily Bulletin Staff Writer
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 signal that Americans are regaining confidence in the economy.
The Federal Reserve reported Friday that consumer borrowing rose by $4.96 billion in January, surprising economists who were looking for borrowing to decline by $4.5 billion. It was the first gain after 11 straight declines.
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 $6.62 billion increase in borrowing for auto loans and other nonrevolving debt. That represented a 5.01 percent gain and followed a 3.69 percent rise in the auto loan category in December
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