Higher spending and greater debt may cause for a slow-down in the upcoming months. Or maybe not. The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit rose at a 3.2 % annual rate in January, up from December's 2.5% increase, primarily due to an increase in auto loans. Overall, the increased borrowing by US consumers pushed the total consumer debt up by $6.4 billion to a record $2.41 trillion in January.  

The gain was expected by analysts. Analysts are predicting that debt levels will grow more slowly this year as consumers try to adjust their personal finances due to record levels of debt. Auto loans took the winning prize, as they created a large growth in consumer borrowing as they rose 4.4% this January, sharply up from December’s 2.9%.  
However, credit cards have actually slowed down in borrowing rates for January. January’s rates were rising at a 1.1% rate, down from a 1.9% increase in December. Credit card debt had surged ahead at a 14.7% rate in November, primarily due to the largest consumer holiday in the month to come.