New York [US], November 11: American consumers borrowed another 25 billion U.S. dollars in September, as higher costs led to further dependence on credit cards and other loans, CNN reported earlier this week, citing newly released Federal Reserve data.
Economists were anticipating monthly growth of 30 billion dollars, according to Refinitiv consensus estimates. The data isn't adjusted for inflation, said the report.
Consumer borrowing in September increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.4 percent. Revolving debt, which includes credit cards, grew by 8.7 percent, the report said.
"In normal economic times, that would be a huge jump," Matthew Schulz, chief credit analyst for LendingTree, wrote in a tweet. "However, it is actually the second-smallest increase in the past year."
Decades-high inflation has weighed heavily on Americans, outpacing wage gains and forcing consumers to rely more heavily on credit cards and savings, noted the report.
Source: Xinhua
