U.S. Consumer Debt Rises

Consumer credit increased by $15.3 billion for the month to $2.56 trillion, the biggest monthly rise since November, the Federal Reserve said today in Washington. In February, credit rose by $6.5 billion, previously reported as an increase of $5.2 billion. The Fed's report doesn't cover borrowing secured by real estate, such as home-equity loans.

People in the United States are now obviously charging up their credit cards because of the recession. There is less money on hand and it is forcing people to borrow more money than they normally would. With the price of oil over $123 a barrel, the rising costs of energy, and the housing credit crisis, the only hope is that economic stimulus package starts to help out in a meaningful way.

Once people start getting those checks, they may end up using them to pay off their credit cards, which might not help the economy so much.

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