Credit Card Spending Grew 7 percent in January: Fed

U.S. consumers continued to spend on credit cards in January, pushing total credit expansion up at an annual rate of 3.3 percent in the first month of 2008, according to data released late Friday by the Federal Reserve.

Most of the gains were in the revolving debt category, which is primarily comprised of credit cards. Consumers added $5.5 billion to total outstanding credit card balances in the month, or at an annual rate of 7 percent, compared to 2.8 percent in December. Total consumer credit outstanding on credit cards now stands at $947.4 billion.

Non-revolving credit, like auto and personal loans, increased $1.5 billion or at an annual rate of 1.1 percent.

The Fed’s Consumer Credit report, commonly referred to as G.19, does not cover borrowing for real estate.

Total consumer credit outstanding in the U.S. stood at $2.525 trillion at the end of January after the $6.9 billion increase in the month.

Economists nearly called the number, with Bloomberg and Reuters reporting expectations of a $7 billion increase in total consumer credit among the prognosticators they polled.