The amount of outstanding consumer credit in the United States jumped more than expected in October, according to data released yesterday by the Federal Reserve Board.
The total amount of revolving (namely credit cards) and non-revolving (namely auto and student loans) credit increased 6.5% in October from September, or $19 billion. Economists had been expecting a $17 billion bump.
Revolving debt increased by nearly 10% in October while non-revolving debt increased by 5.3%.
The total amount of outstanding consumer debt was $3.8 trillion on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the report, up from $3.78 trillion in September, and $3.65 trillion at the end of 2016. About two-thirds of that total is represented by non-revolving types of credit.