The willingness to take on debt and open wallets, at least here, remains unabated.
In the United States, consumer debt gained at its headiest pace in October, as noted by Bloomberg, and is showing an increased appetite, of course, for borrowings.
The total borrowings were up by $25.4 billion in the month, and per the newswire were ahead of analysts’ estimates that borrowings would gain by $15 billion. The gains now stand on top of revised (upward) growth of $11.6 billion in September. The data, released by the Federal Reserve, showed, too, that credit card and other revolving debt gained by rates not seen in 11 months.
Overall, revolving credit (which, again, includes credit card debt) surged by $9.2 billion, which comes, Bloomberg noted, after a decline that topped $300 million. Macro data, as has been noted here and elsewhere, has been strong enough to underpin consumer sentiment and keep consumers, well, consuming. Bloomberg posited that the increased balances were perhaps a sign of willingness to keep spending into the holiday season, even as interest rates are on the rise.
Non-revolving debt, which includes student and auto loans, was up $16.2 billion in the period, and had gained $11.9 billion in September.
The data released Friday by the Fed also showed that lending by the federal government – which tends to be used as a measurement for student lending – was up by $2.9 billion before seasonal adjustment.
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Beyond the tallies of balances outstanding, credit was up at a seasonally adjusted rate of 7.7 percent – and that ties in with the sentiment that this is the fastest pace seen in 11 months.
Revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 10.7 percent, while non-revolving credit increased at an annual rate of 6.7 percent.
