Consumer borrowing up 7.73% in October

Americans boosted their borrowing by 7.73 percent in October from a year ago, the largest increase in nearly a year as consumer spending has helped fuel U.S. economic growth.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that consumer borrowing rose by a seasonally adjusted $25.3 billion in October to a total of $3.96 trillion. The October increase was the most since November 2017 and more than double the gain in the prior month.

Much of the increase was because of a 10.75 percent jump in revolving credit, a category that includes credit cards. Nonrevolving credit — which includes auto loans and student debt — rose 6.67 percent.

Economists and investors monitor consumer borrowing to judge the willingness of people to take on debt to finance their purchases. Higher debt can suggest that people are confident in their ability to repay their loans.

Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.