In yet another sign that the U.S. economy is growing quickly, consumer credit outstanding increased at a rate of 10% in May (seasonally adjusted), the Federal Reserve reported Thursday.
The agency also reported an 11.4% increase for revolving credit and a 9.5% increase for non-revolving credit. (The former includes credit extended through credit cards, personal lines of credit and home equity lines of credit [HELOCs]. The latter, the Fed said, includes auto loans and all other loans not included under revolving credit, including those for mobile homes, education, boats, trailers or vacations – secured or unsecured.)
The May increase in total consumer credit outstanding is the largest monthly increase in the three-month period of March through May; in March, consumer credit expanded by only 5.5%, and in April only 5.7% (both are revised from original Fed releases).
In the first quarter of the year, consumer credit advanced by only 3.6%, the Fed said; in all of 2020, consumer credit declined by 0.3%, the Fed noted, largely as a result of the financial impact of the coronavirus crisis.