U.S. consumer credit up slightly in April

U.S. consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 954.8 million U.S. dollars, or 0.5 percent in April, the Federal Reserve reported Monday.

The gain, the only second increase in the past 15 months, was much more than the 1 billion dollar decline that economists expected.

According to the report, total consumer borrowing, which the Federal Reserve defines as all loans not secured by real estate, increased to an annual rate of 2.440 trillion dollars at the end of April.

For April, consumer credit in revolving loans, a category that includes primarily credit card debt, plunged by 12 percent at an annual rate.

Demand for nonrevolving credit used to finance cars, vacations, education and other things, meanwhile, was up 7.1 percent.

Many analysts believe that the strength in consumer borrowing will continue to be weak, making it harder for the economy to keep a sustained rebound.

Source:Xinhua