U.S. credit card borrowers shed $4.5 billion of debt in June, continuing the pattern of reducing overall outstanding receivables that began in the fall of 2008, according to a Federal Reserve G.19 report on consumer credit.
Revolving credit, 98% of which is credit card debt, in June fell 0.5%, to $826.5 billion from a revised total of $831 billion in May, the report, which was released last week, said.
The decline marks the 21st consecutive month of shrinking U.S. consumer credit. Consumers have eliminated $131.6 billion of credit card debt since the end of 2008, when total consumer revolving credit reached $958.1 billion.
Total seasonally adjusted consumer credit outstanding, which includes revolving and nonrevolving credit, decreased at annual rate of 3.25% in June, to $2.419 trillion, the report said.
