BUSINESS BRIEFING / THE ECONOMY
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Consumer borrowing fell in February by more than analysts expected as Americans cut back their use of credit cards by a record amount.
The Federal Reserve said consumer borrowing dropped at an annual rate of $7.48 billion in February, or 3.5%, from January. Wall Street economists expected borrowing to slide $1 billion, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters.
The decline was led by a record drop in borrowing on credit and charge cards, which fell at an annual rate of $7.8 billion, or 9.7%. That is the sharpest drop in dollar terms since federal records began in 1968, and the steepest percentage fall since 1978.
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