The borrowings by the U. S. consumers grew surprisingly in the month of January, according to the recently released Federal Reserve data. This growth in consumer credit was reported the first growth in last one year. This is seen as an early sign of recovery of the economy.

The data of Federal Reserve showed that in the month of January the consumer credit was reported increased by 2.4% or $5 billion comparing to December 2009.

In January, the total consumer credit was reported of $2.45 trillion. The increase in consumer credit surprised the economists as they were expecting a decline of $4.5 billion in January following a $4.6 billion fall in December. The growth in January was reported the first gain after 11 consecutive monthly declines. Also this increase was reported the highest since July 2008 when the consumer credit grew by $7.29 billion.

The increase in the credit for car loans played a major role in the growth of consumer credit in January. The credit for car loans or non revolving credit grew by $6.62bn or by 5% in the month of January.

On the other hand, the revolving credit in the month of January was reported decreased by $1.67 billion, improving from a huge $9.43 billion decline in December.