Marina Lubimova
Revolving credit fell by $4.79 billion, while nonrevolving credit rose by $13.07 billion.
August 2026: +$8.28B vs. +$15B forecast and +$17.74B in July.
Key Data
| Metric | Aug. 2026 | Jul. 2026 | Aug. 2025 |
| Total credit, annualized rate | 1.92% | 4.12% | 0.64% |
| Revolving credit | -4.23% | 2.46% | -1.80% |
| Nonrevolving credit | 4.09% | 4.70% | 1.49% |
| Total monthly flow | +$8.28B | +$17.74B | +$2.68B |
| Revolving flow | -$4.79B | +$2.78B | -$1.97B |
| Nonrevolving flow | +$13.07B | +$14.96B | +$4.65B |
Caption: Revolving credit contracted in August, while nonrevolving credit remained positive.
Credit Growth Slowed by More Than Half
Total monthly credit growth fell from $17.74 billion in July to $8.28 billion in August.
That is a decline of:
$9.46 billion, or 53.3%.
The latest reading was also $6.72 billion below forecast, a miss of about 44.8%.
Revolving Credit Turned Negative
Revolving credit moved from +$2.78 billion in July to -$4.79 billion in August. That is a swing of about $7.57 billion in one month. The annualized rate dropped from +2.46% to -4.23%. Revolving credit mainly includes credit-card balances and similar credit lines.
Nonrevolving Credit Stayed Positive
Nonrevolving credit increased by $13.07 billion, compared with $14.96 billion in July. The annualized growth rate eased from 4.70% to 4.09%. This category includes auto loans, student loans and other installment credit. Without the increase in nonrevolving borrowing, total consumer credit would have declined in August.
Total Outstanding Credit
Total U.S. consumer credit reached about $5.197 trillion in August.
| Outstanding credit | Aug. 2026 | Jul. 2026 | Aug. 2025 |
| Total | $5.197T | $5.188T | $5.059T |
| Revolving | $1.352T | $1.357T | $1.308T |
| Nonrevolving | $3.844T | $3.831T | $3.750T |
Total outstanding consumer credit was roughly 2.7% higher than a year earlier.
Bottom Line
August consumer credit came in well below expectations:
- Actual: +$8.28B
- Forecast: +$15.00B
- July: +$17.74B
The main shift was in revolving credit, which fell $4.79 billion after rising $2.78 billion in July.
Nonrevolving credit remained positive at +$13.07 billion, preventing the total figure from turning negative.
Marina Lubimova
