By Nathalie Voit
Consumer borrowing in June surged to its second-highest level ever, data released on Aug. 5 from the Federal Reserve showed.
Total consumer debt ballooned by $40.2 billion over the month from a revised $23.8 billion in May, according to the Fed’s G.19 consumer credit report. In percentage terms, borrowing rose by 10.5% in June compared to 6.3% in May.
The only other month that saw a similar spike in credit was March, when consumers loaded up on $47.1 billion of debt. According to Bloomberg, economists had projected total lending to advance by $27 billion in June, considerably less than actual reported figures.
Outstanding revolving credit–a benchmark for total U.S. credit card debt–rose by 16% in June after increasing by 7.8% in the previous month. Nonrevolving outstanding credit, which includes motor vehicle loans and student loans, climbed by 8.8% in the month from 5.8% in May.
On a quarter-to-quarter basis, Americans accrued an additional $98.9 billion worth of debt as borrowing rose at an annualized 8.7% over Q2 2022.
The surge in lending stems from the unusual inflationary environment. The latest inflation data from the government shows consumer prices hovering around a 40-year annualized high of 9.1% in June.
