Consumer Credit Released on 8/7/2009 3:00:00 PM For June, 2009
..............................................PriorConsensusConsensus RangeActual
Consumer Credit - M/M change$-3.2 B$-4.2 B$-10.0 B to $-3.0 B$-10.3 B
Highlights
Banks are cutting down credit while consumers, hit by job loss or the fear of job loss, are paying down credit, not good news for policy makers who are trying to stimulate spending. Consumer credit has been contracting at a record pace this year including in June when credit contracted $10.3 billion. The contraction was split evenly between revolving, down $5.3 billion, and non-revolving, down $5.0 billion. Consumer credit contracted at an annual rate of $5.2 billion in the second quarter, more severe than the $3.6 billion rate of contraction of the first quarter. There's never much initial reaction to the consumer credit report, mostly because it's issued near the end of the day. But this report is certain to appear in next week's commentaries, especially among the bears and realists.
