WASHINGTON – Consumer borrowing unexpectedly increased by $2.0 billion, or 1.0%, in March as consumer loans held by commercial banks soared 39%, the Federal Reserve reported today.
Consumer credit in February fell 3.0%, or by $6.2 billion, revised from the $11.5 billion drop reported last month.
Economists expected March consumer credit to decrease by $3.70 billion, according to the median estimate from Thomson Reuters.
Revolving credit, which includes credit card borrowing, fell by $3.2 billion, and has fallen for 18 straight months dating back to October 2008.
Non-revolving credit, which includes loans for cars, education and vacations, increased by $5.2 billion.
Consumer credit for the first quarter of 2010 increased 0.4%.
Consumer loans held by commercial banks jumped to $1.154 trillion in March from $830.3 billion in February.
Consumer spending, which comprises about 70% of economic spending, increased 3.6% in the first quarter of 2010, the strongest gain in three years, the Commerce Department reported last Friday in the advance gross domestic product report.
