WASHINGTON — Borrowing by U.S. consumers fell for a ninth-straight month in October as Americans kept their credit cards at bay.
Consumer credit outstanding decreased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.7 percent to $2.483 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Monday.
The decline was much smaller than expected. Wall Street had forecast consumer credit to fall $10 billion during October.
It was the ninth drop in a row — and the 11th in 12 months. But declines in recent months were revised upward sharply. September consumer credit, for instance fell $8.8 billion instead of the previously estimated $14.8-billion decline.
People began cutting back a little over a year ago, during the Wall Street financial crisis. The economy was slumping, unemployment was rising, and households were saddled with debt.
The $3.5-billion drop in borrowing during October was relatively small compared with other months, economists say. Dow Jones Newswires
