WASHINGTON, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Consumer credit outstanding, including such things as credit card debt and car loans, fell for November, according to a regular monthly report from the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In what some analyst described as an unexpected report, consumer debt showed its first monthly drop in more than four years, signaling mixed news for the economy. While the reduction of personal debt is considered good, continued consumer spending, as reflected by debt, is also a key part of the U.S. economic engine.
Consumer spending accounts for around two-thirds of gross domestic product, which is the sum of all U.S. economic activity.
The nation's central bank said Wednesday that outstanding consumer credit fell by $2.2 billion in November down from October's $1.6 billion rise in consumer debt.
This is the first drop in debt since January 1998, and the largest drop since October 1991, the Fed reported.
According to the Fed, revolving credit, which includes credit and charge card debt, dropped $1.6 billion, while non-revolving debt, which includes closed-end loans for such purchases as cars, dipped by $700 million in November.
The report does not take into account mortgage debt, which has been mounting in the United States during an extended housing boom spurred by low lending rates.
