Consumer credit up by $12.33 billion

U.S. consumer credit rose $12.33 billion in November as Americans loaded up on credit card debt. Closed-end loans for items such as cars, education and vacations recovered from an October decline, the Federal Reserve reported.

Consumer credit increased by a 6.2% annual rate to $2.39 trillion in November, contrasted with a revised decline of 0.6%, or $1.25 billion, in October.

Late credit card payments rose for a third straight quarter, the American Bankers Assn. said in a separate report. Late payments grew to 4.57% in the third quarter of 2006 from 4.41% in the previous quarter.