U.S. Consumer Credit Rises Roughly In Line With Estimates In January

(RTTNews) - With an increase in non-revolving credit more than offsetting a modest drop in revolving credit, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing that U.S. consumer credit rose roughly in line with economist estimates in January.

The report said consumer credit increased by $13.7 billion in January following a downwardly revised $15.9 billion increase in December.

Economists had expected credit to climb by about $14.0 billion compared to the $18.8 billion jump originally reported for the previous month.

The increase in total credit came as non-revolving credit such as student loans and car loans rose by $13.9 billion in January after climbing by $12.8 billion in December.

On the other hand, revolving credit, which largely reflects credit card debt, edged down by $0.3 billion in January after rising by $3.1 billion in the previous month.

The Fed also said consumer credit rose by an annual rate of 5.3 percent in January, as non-revolving increased by 7.5 percent and revolving credit dipped by 0.3 percent.