Consumer Credit in U.S. Rose in October by Most in Five Months

[Purveyor]

Source: Bloomberg

By Michelle Jamrisko - Dec 6, 2013

Consumer borrowing rose in October by the most in five months as credit-card use picked up and Americans took out more loans for car purchases and education.

The $18.2 billion increase in credit followed a revised $16.3 billion gain in September that was more than initially reported, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $14.5 billion advance.

Credit-card borrowing rose by the most since May as job gains, income growth and rising household wealth gave Americans the confidence to borrow. Consumers also took out more non-revolving loans for big-ticket purchases such as cars, which are on pace for their best sales year since 2007.

“Non-revolving credit has been the driving force behind consumer credit growth basically since the recession,” said Dana Saporta, director of U.S. economics research at Credit Suisse in New York. “As incomes start to pick up and those that have jobs have more confidence that they’ll see some income growth, we could see this revolving component post more consistent gains.”

Read more: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-12-06/consumer-credit-in-u-s-rose-in-october-by-most-in-five-months.html

[cthulu2016]

1. Excellent news

[cosmicone]

2. It means more people are going in debt

at exorbitant rates buying cheap chinese products from minimum wage walmart.

[AtheistCrusader]

3. However, the rate doesn't mean much.

I'm up 100% over the same timeperiod.

But in this case, 100% is about 80 bucks.

[cosmicone]

6. Very true. The denominator matters! n/t

[KoKo]

4. Suffering People trying to give Holiday Gifts to their Families. eom

At this point after trying to pay off debt they have to do something....and credit is last resort.

[Agschmid]

5. I was bad...

I had zero debt on CC at the beginning of October. Right now I have $900... Oye stupid holidays.

I bought a NEST thermostat and some gifts from Tiffany's for my mom. Oh and I needed to get some service on my car.

Hopefully the debt is gone by January 1st.

[KoKo]

7. Small steps until you get SUCKED BACK...that's what it's about.

What do YOU Think?

[Agschmid]

8. I won't get sucked back.

I could pay it all off right now I just don't need to.

In some ways getting the rewards and paying it before accruing interest is beneficial to me.

Also since debt is somewhat cheap right now it's not a terrible time to leverage a bit.

[jwirr]

9. I realize why that is good news for the economy but believe me it is not good news for the

individual. My whole life has been ruined because I went over the cliff in debt and as a senior I cannot go bankrupt because my income is exempt. That means no new start for me.

[quadrature]

10. buying food on credit. just wonderful.

the recession drags on and on