Consumer borrowing fell again in July as households cut back on their credit card use for a 23rd consecutive month, adding more drag on an economy struggling to mount a sustained rebound.
Borrowing dropped at an annual rate of $3.6 billion in July, the FederalReserve reported Wednesday. That marked the 17th drop in credit in the past 18 months.
Americans did boost borrowing for auto loans in July but this gain was offset by further reductions in the category that includes credit cards.
The latest drop in overall borrowing was slightly higher than economists' expectations and followed a $1.02 billion decline in June, which was revised from an initial estimate that total credit had dropped by $1.3 billion that month. LINK
Posts
