Consumer Borrowing Grows at Slower Rate

Borrowing by U.S. consumers increased in March at the slowest pace in at least a year after advancing in February and January. Borrowing through credit cards, auto loans and other personal loans rose by $1.6 billion to $1.325 trillion after rising $8.7 billion in February and $15.3 billion in January, the Federal Reserve said. Previously, the Fed said February borrowing increased $7.3 billion. Analysts had expected an increase of $6.5 billion for March. Economists watch the Fed’s report to help them gauge consumer demand. However, the report doesn’t tell the complete story of consumer borrowing because it doesn’t track loans secured by real estate, such as home equity loans. Consumers are engaged in the fastest pace of spending in 11 years, according to Commerce Department figures issued April 30. That spending helped propel the economy to a 4.5% rate of growth for the three months ended March 31.