Fed reports U.S. consumer credit was essentially unchanged in May 2026

U.S. consumer credit was essentially flat in May 2026, with the Federal Reserve’s July 8 G.19 report showing a negative $2.2 billion annualized flow and seasonally adjusted total consumer credit at $5,154.5 billion. The main weakness came from revolving credit, largely credit card balances, which fell at a 4.7% annual rate. In dollar terms, revolving balances dropped by $5.3 billion from $1,349.5 billion in April to $1,344.2 billion in May. Nonrevolving credit, which includes auto loans and student debt, rose at a 1.6% annual rate and partly offset the decline. On an unadjusted basis, total consumer credit increased to $5,105.2 billion in May from $5,097.1 billion in April, but that was a much softer move than April’s revised $20.7 billion increase, when total consumer credit had grown at a 4.9% annual rate. For digital-asset markets, the report offers no direct crypto linkage, but evidence of household deleveraging without a sharp economic downturn could shape expectations for future Federal Reserve rate decisions. Investors will now watch June data to see whether May was an outlier or the start of a broader pullback in credit card borrowing.