U.S. Household Debt Fell 0.6% in Third Quarter, New York Fed Survey Finds

Consumer indebtedness fell by $60 billion from the end of June to $11.66 trillion on Sept. 30, according to a quarterly report on household debt and credit released today by the district bank. Mortgage balances declined by about $114 billion, or 1.3 percent.

“Households continue to try and deleverage in the wake of a challenging economic environment and large declines in home values,” Andrew Haughwout, vice president in the Research and Statistics Group at the New York Fed, said in a statement. “However, our findings also provide evidence that consumer credit demand continues to increase, a positive sign for consumer sentiment.”

Retail sales during Thanksgiving weekend climbed 16 percent, and shoppers spent $398.62 on average, up from $365.34 a year earlier, the National Retail Federation said yesterday, citing a survey from BIGresearch. Web sales on Black Friday surged 26 percent to $816 million and 18 percent to $479 million on Thanksgiving Day, said ComScore, a Reston, Virginia-based research firm.