American consumers stepped up their borrowing by $18.4 billion in December, a solid performance that followed a massive gain the previous month.
The increase reflects gains of $5.1 billion in the category that covers credit cards and $13.3 billion in the category for auto and student loans, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday. It does not include home mortgages or other loans secured by real estate such as home equity loans.
The overall increase followed a $31 billion surge in November as consumers took on extra credit to finance holiday shopping.
Consumer borrowing is closely followed for indications about how confident households are in taking on more debt to finance spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity. In the fourth quarter, the overall economy grew at a solid 2.6 percent rate. In recent months, Americans have been increasingly confident and willing to take on more debt.
The question is whether the sharp declines in the stock market last Friday and Monday could shake that confidence. Moreover, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate three times in 2017 and indicated in December it planned to boost rates another three times in 2018 to keep the economy from overheating now that unemployment has dropped to a 17-year low of 4.1 percent.