U.S. Consumer Credit Jumps Much More Than Expected In March

(RTTNews) - Partly reflecting a notable increase in non-revolving credit, the Federal Reserve released a report on Friday showing a sharp jump in U.S. consumer credit in the month of March.

The Fed said consumer credit surged up by $29.7 billion in March after climbing by a revised $14.1 billion in February.

Economists had expected credit to rise by about $15.8 billion compared to the $17.2 billion increase originally reported for the previous month.

Non-revolving credit such as student loans and car loans shot up by $18.6 billion in March after rising by $11.2 billion in February.

The Fed said revolving credit, which largely reflects credit card debt, also increased by $11.1 billion in March after edging up by $2.9 billion in the previous month.

The report also said consumer credit soared by an annual rate of 10.0 percent in March, as revolving credit spiked by 14.2 percent and non-revolving credit jumped by 8.5 percent.