Consumer borrowing lower than expected

By Ben Rooney
CNNMoney.com staff writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Consumer borrowing decreased sharply in November as the weak economy continued to weigh on household budgets.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that consumer borrowing fell by $8 billion in November to $2.571 trillion from an upwardly revised $2.579 trillion in October.

The annual rate of consumer borrowing fell by 3.7 percent in the month. In October, the annual rate fell by 1.3 percent.

Credit card borrowing, or revolving debt, declined at an annual rate of 3.4 percent. Non-revolving borrowing, including student and auto loans, fell $5.2 billion, or 2.1 percent on an annual basis.

Economists were expecting consumer credit to have remained unchanged in November, according to a consensus of economists' estimates gathered by Briefing.com.