Consumers Sought More Car Loans in February

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Consumers increased borrowing by $8.7 billion, the sixth straight monthly increase, the Federal Reserve said in its monthly report.

The increase in borrowing was driven by an $11 billion increase in the category that includes mostly auto and student loans. Borrowing on credit cards fell by $2 billion, after a $3 billion decline in January.

Total consumer borrowing rose to a seasonally adjusted $2.52 trillion. The figure was nearly at prerecession levels and was up from a postrecession low point of $2.39 trillion reached in September 2010. Borrowing had tumbled for more than two years during and immediately after the recession.

Consumer borrowing rose by $18.6 billion in January, after similar gains in December and November. The gains for those three months were the largest in a decade.

A rise in borrowing could suggest that consumers are feeling more confident about the economy. However, few are comfortable enough to step up credit card use. Consumers carried $799 billion in credit card debt in February — 15 percent less than they held in December 2007, the first month of the recession.

Steven Wood, chief economist at Insight Economics, said February’s borrowing increase was strong. But he said it was the smallest increase since October.

“Consumers still appear to be reluctant to use their credit cards,” Mr. Wood said in a note to clients.

Consumers are taking on more debt at a time when their wages have not kept pace with inflation. And they are paying more for gasoline. The average price per gallon nationally was $3.94 on Friday.

Households began borrowing less and saving more when the recession began and unemployment surged. While the expectation is that consumers are ready to resume borrowing, they are not expected to load up on debt the way they did during the housing boom of the last decade.

The Federal Reserve’s borrowing report covers auto loans, student loans and credit cards. It excludes mortgages, home equity loans and other loans tied to real estate.

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