Consumer Debt Rises at Slower Pace in June

U.S. consumer debt rose in June at a slower pace than a month earlier as consumer confidence fell amid a slump in stock prices.

Credit card debt, auto loans and other personal borrowing rose at a 5.9% annual rate, or $8.4 billion, in June, the Federal Reserve said. That followed a 6.7%, or $9.5-billion increase in May that was the largest since November.

The slowdown in consumer borrowing coincided with a drop in the Conference Board’s index of consumer confidence in June and a 7% slide in the Standard & Poor’s 500 stock index. General Motors Corp. and other auto makers reintroduced zero-interest car loans in July, suggesting the slowing in consumer borrowing may be short-lived.

Economists expected consumer credit to rise by $8 billion in June. Total consumer debt rose in June to $1.71 trillion from $1.7 trillion in May.