Meanwhile, the personal savings rate has dipped to a near-historic low of 3.8 percent of after-tax income.
azcentral.com
Credit growth slows in May
Debt payments still a struggle
Wire reports
Jul. 8, 2003 12:00 AM
Growth in U.S. consumer credit slowed in May as the economy emerges from recession, economists said in advance of today's report from the Federal Reserve in Washington.
Consumers added $5 billion in debt to their credit cards and through auto loans and other installment borrowing, based on the median of 42 forecasts in a Bloomberg News survey of economists. In April, Americans rang up $10.7 billion in new debt.
The Federal Reserve report, which doesn't include loans secured by real estate, will be issued by noon Arizona time.
Even though the growth of credit is easing, many debt counselors say consumers are struggling to pay their debts.
Consumer debt nationwide rose to $1.7 trillion in April, up 7.3 percent from March, according to the Federal Reserve.
The nation's household debt for the first quarter of 2003 was at 108 percent of disposable income, the highest number since 1990, Economy.com said.
Meanwhile, the personal savings rate has dipped to a near-historic low of 3.8 percent of after-tax income. But rising joblessness has curbed consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of the economy. And that has slowed the pace of new debt.
Unemployment in June rose to 6.4 percent, a nine-year high. Consumer spending grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first three months of the year, half the average during the 1992-2000 economic expansion. |
