U.S. consumer credit grows by $6.5 billion in April

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. consumer credit in April expanded the least in six months as people cut back on the use of revolving credit, data from the Federal Reserve showed on Thursday.

Consumer credit grew by $6.5 billion, falling short of the $11 billion rise that Wall Street economists had forecast in a Reuters poll.

That followed a downwardly revised $12.4 billion increase in outstanding credit in March.

The Fed also released new data on flows of consumer credit, rather than levels.

That data, which the Fed says gives a better view of lending related to economic activity, showed the flow of consumer credit cooled to an annual rate of $78.2 billion in April. In March, that rate was $148.4 billion, the Fed said.

The flows data also slowed due to a contraction in revolving credit, which includes credit cards.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Neil Stempleman)