Credit card purchases rising

WASHINGTON - Consumers kept charging at a rapid pace on their credit cards in July although their overall borrowing slowed a bit.

The Federal Reserve reported that consumer credit rose at an annual rate of 3.7 percent in July, down from a 5.9 percent growth rate for consumer debt in June.

The slowdown reflected a big drop in borrowing in the category that includes auto loans. The category that includes credit cards saw an increase as consumers continued to turn to their credit cards to finance purchases now that home equity lines of credit are becoming harder to obtain.

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