U.S. consumer credit grows at record rate in June
Reuters
Published Aug 06, 2021 05:04PM ET
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit grew at the fastest rate ever in June, as Americans increased their credit card usage to drive consumer spending in the second quarter, data from the Federal Reserve showed on Friday.
Total consumer credit expanded at a pace of $37.69 billion, which was the quickest rate ever and followed a $36.69 billion increase in May, the U.S. central bank said. Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer credit to increase at a rate of $23.00 billion in June.
An alternate measure tracking the monthly change in the total amount of credit outstanding increased by the most since December 2010, the data showed. That measure showed that revolving credit, which mostly measures credit-card use, rose by $17.858 billion, the largest gain since 2006, after climbing by $9.089 billion in May.
The surge in June could explain the sustained robustness in consumer spending during last quarter, even as the flow of stimulus money from the government ebbed.
"We expect consumer credit growth will continue at a healthy clip in the second half of 2021, supported by strong consumer spending and an easing of lending standards for consumer loans," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead economist at Oxford Economics in New York.
Consumer spending, which accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity, notched a second straight quarter of double-digit growth. That helped to pull the level of gross domestic product above its peak in the fourth quarter of 2019.
But growth in nonrevolving credit, which includes auto loans as well as student loans made by the government, slowed to a pace of $19.831 billion from a rate of $27.601 billion in May.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.