| Consumer Credit |
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Released On 5/7/2012 3:00:00 PM For Mar, 2012
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Prior | Prior Revised | Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual |
| Consumer Credit - M/M change | $8.7 B | $9.3 B | $9.8 B | $5.0 B to $14.0 B | $21.4 B |
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Highlights
Consumers over the last half year are borrowing more but not so much for consumer goods. Consumer credit outstanding jumped $21.4 billion to $2.54 trillion in March. Prior months show very sizable gains of $20.0 billion in November, $16.3 billion in December, $18.6 billion in January, and $9.3 billion in an upwardly revised February. The gain is being led, not by revolving credit (which isn't good news for chain stores), but by non-revolving credit where the gain is concentrated in student loans. But revolving credit did rise, up $5.2 billion in the month following two prior months of declines.
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Market Consensus before announcement
Consumer credit outstanding rose a respectable $8.7 billion in February following an outsized and upwardly revised rise of $18.6 billion in January. Consumer credit has been surging the last six months driven by nonrevolving credit, credit in large part that's used to fund vehicle purchases. Revolving credit, which also turned higher late last year, has however been lagging and contracted slightly for a second month in a row.
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Definition
The dollar value of consumer installment credit outstanding. Changes in consumer credit indicate the state of consumer finances and portend future spending patterns.
Why Investors Care
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![[Chart]](showimage.asp?imageid=22482)
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The debt-to-income ratio shows how indebted consumers are relative to income. A rising ratio indicates that consumers are taking on greater debt burdens with respect to income growth. In a growing economy, this may not be dangerous. However, indebtedness could quickly become a problem if income and employment conditions turn around. The yearly change in debt outstanding shows yearly trends in debt growth and tends to be less volatile than the monthly change.
Data Source: Haver Analytics
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