April 6, 2007 Consumers increased their borrowing in February at the slowest pace in four months. The Federal Reserve reported today that consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 1-1/2% in February.  Revolving credit rose at an annual rate of 3-1/2%, and non-revolving credit rose at an annual rate of 1/2 percent.

According the Fed's G19 Consumer Credit Report, the slow down was led by consumers borrowing less freely to finance cars, vacations, education and other so-called nonrevolving credit. Demand for such credit edged up at only a 0.4% pace—down sharply from a 4.2 percent growth rate in January.

Use of revolving credit, primarily credit cards, rose significantly by 3.4% in February compared to a 1.7% growth rate logged in January.  The Fed's measure of consumer borrowing does not include mortgages or other loans secured by real estate.

Consumer spending has helped the economy move ahead despite the housing slump and rising gasoline prices. Economists attribute consumers' resiliency to the fact that the jobs market is staying healthy and that workers' paychecks are growing.

The increased borrowing pushed total consumer debt up by $2.97 billion to a record of $2.41 trillion in February.