US consumer borrowing increased in March by the most in three months, reflecting a pickup in credit-card balances as well as a solid rise in motor vehicle and other non-revolving loans.
Total credit climbed nearly $10.2 billion after falling a revised $614 million in February, according to Federal Reserve data out Wednesday. The median projection in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a $9.4 billion rise. The monthly figures cap a quarter that saw the smallest annualized gain in credit in nearly a year.
Non-revolving debt, such as loans for vehicle purchases and school tuition, increased about $8.3 billion. Outstanding credit-card and other revolving debt rose $1.9 billion in March. The report doesn’t include mortgages.
The figures add to evidence that many consumers stepped up purchases of big-ticket items such as motor vehicles on expectations that goods could become more expensive because of higher tariffs. Auto sales increased in March to the fastest pace in nearly four years, based on data from Wards Intelligence.
“Consumers keep spending, credit card spending, it’s still a healthy economy — albeit one that is shrouded in some very down deep sentiment on the part of people and businesses,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press briefing after central bankers left interest rates unchanged earlier Wednesday.
At the same time, Americans are becoming more guarded about their finances as anxiety builds over US trade policy. Recent consumer sentiment surveys have indicated more pessimism about the outlook for both the job market and economy.