Consumer Credit Swells by $2.6 Billion: Americans...

Consumer Credit Swells by $2.6 Billion: Americans took out $2.6-billion more in consumer credit than they paid off in March as borrowing to buy automobiles rebounded from February, the Federal Reserve reported. The Fed said consumer credit increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.4%, up from a scant 0.1% rise in February. That represented a sharp revision from the 5.7% rate estimated earlier for February and made the month the weakest in a year. Automobile loans in March advanced $1.8 billion, a 7.5% annual rate, after falling at a 5.2% rate in February. The total consumer debt at the end of March was $721.5 billion.