U.S. consumers are certainly pulling out their credit cards to pay for goods and services, federal data has shown.
The total outstanding credit card balance rose $11.3 billion to nearly $5.07 trillion in May, beating April's jump by $4.8 billion, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Monday.
The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for an $8.9 billion increase for May, which has not been adjusted for inflation.
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Revolving credit, which includes credit cards, spiked $7 billion in May to almost $1.35 trillion, the Fed data revealed. May's increase in credit card debt reversed a $900 million decline in borrowings during the month of April.
Americans are putting more purchases on their credit cards after spending their COVID-19 pandemic savings and facing higher costs of living, Bloomberg reported.
The report also showed that credit card interest rates rose to 22.76% in May, up from 22.63% during the first quarter. The report did not show interest rates for March and April.
Price Action: Credit card issuers gave mixed reactions to Monday's Fed report. $Visa (V.US)$ declined 1.46% to $266.40, while $MasterCard (MA.US)$fell 0.72% to $446.24.
$JPMorgan (JPM.US)$ gained 0.22% on Monday to close at $205.17 as $American Express (AXP.US)$ slipped 0.47% to $234.51 and $Citigroup (C.US)$ picked up 1.09% to $64.74. $Capital One Financial (COF.US)$ slid 0.14% to $135.81.