Correction: November US consumer credit story

WASHINGTON – In a story Jan. 8 about the Federal Reserve’s November consumer credit report, The Associated Press reported erroneously in the final paragraph that consumer credit rose $15.6 trillion in October and $14 trillion in November. It rose $15.6 billion in October and $14 billion in November.

A corrected version of the story is below:

US consumer borrowing rose in November

Surging credit card use fuels higher US consumer borrowing in November

By MARTY CRUTSINGER

AP Economics Writer

U.S. consumers boosted their borrowing in November, as higher credit card spending partially offset slower growth in auto and student loans.

Consumer borrowing rose $14 billion in November to a fresh record high of $3.53 trillion, the Federal Reserve said Friday. Economists believe that strong job gains in the labour market will boost consumer confidence and convince households to finance purchases by taking on more debt.

For November, the category that covers credit cards increased $5.7 billion after a much smaller $65 million gain in October.

The category that covers auto loans and student loans rose by $8.3 billion. That was the smallest monthly gain for this category in more than three years.

In its monthly credit report, the Fed does not break down auto loans and student loans in the seasonally adjusted data. However, analysts said they believed the slowdown occurred in student loans given that car sales have been so strong in recent months.

November’s overall monthly gain was slightly below October’s increase of $15.6 billion. It was the smallest expansion since an increase of $10.8 billion last January.