Consumer Debt Grows $10.3 Billion

Americans increased their borrowing at an annual rate of 12.1 percent in January, a slight pickup from the two previous months even though borrowing for auto loans slowed.

The report by the Federal Reserve Thursday showed that consumer borrowing increased by $10.3 billion in January, following gains of $9.8 billion in both November and December.

The January increase boosted the total amount of consumer installment credit to $1.035 trillion at the end of January.

Many analysts has predicted a slowdown in credit growth because of the storms that kept consumers out of stores.

Consumer spending was particularly weak in the final three months of the year, with people worried about high levels of personal debt and job layoffs.