US consumer credit up

Washington, Aug 8 (IANS) US consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 3 percent in June, a positive sign of growing confidence in the economy, the Federal Reserve reported.

The US central bank Tuesday said that borrowing in June rose to a seasonally adjusted total of $2,577.4 billion from the revised figure of $2,570.9 billion in May, Xinhua reported.

The Fed said that demand for revolving credit, the category that includes credit cards, fell by 5.1 percent in June to $864.6 billion.

The borrowing in the non-revolving category, which includes auto loans, rose at an annual rate of 7.2 percent to $1712.8 billion.

Consumer spending, which is the main driver for growth, rose by 1.5 percent in the second quarter, a deceleration from a 2.4 percent gain in the first three months. The overall economic growth also slowed to 1.5 percent in the April-June quarter.