USA: Consumer credit grows very little. Are we at the maximum?
After several months of soaring consumer credit growth with US households charging their credit cards for purchases (given that their bank accounts, fattened by months of stigmies in 2020 and ended in early 2021, had become dangerously dried), consumer credit growth declined sharply in October, rising by just $ 16.9 billion, missing expectations of a $ 25 billion increase, and falling sharply from $ 27.8 billion in September. below the half-yearly average of $ 23.5 billion.
Looking at the breakdown, the weakness was evenly distributed between revolving and non-revolving credit.
As shown in the graph below, credit card debt (aka revolving debt) increased by $ 6.582 billion, down from $ 9.8 billion a month earlier and well below a record $ 17.7 billion. reached in June. However, we're a long way off the record stretch of constant credit card payments that dominated business in 2020.
Perhaps even more than in revolving credit, there was a sharp slowdown in growth in non-revolving credit as well, which increased by just $ 10.3 billion in October, down sharply from September's 18.1 billion and well below the recent high reached in May of 24 billion dollars.
While not yet an imminent warning, the sharp decline, especially relative to expectations, in credit development could be the first indication that US consumers are pulling the oars and no longer wanting to expand their credit exposure. 
This is because they have run out of their savings . This would portend an austere Christmas, following the declines in Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales seen last week. In short, US consumption signals a possible contraction
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The US article : Consumer credit is growing very little. Are we at the maximum? comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/usa-il-credito-al-consumo-cresce-molto-poco-siamo-al-massimo/ on Wed, 08 Dec 2021 10:00:24 +0000.