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WASHINGTON — Americans increased their borrowing by $11.6 billion in March as a big increase in the category that covers auto and student loans offset the largest monthly drop in credit card borrowing in more than five years.

Rising prices at the gas pump helped drive U.S. household sentiment to a seven-week low at the end of April, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed May 3.

U.S. consumer spending picked up in March while the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge hit the central bank’s 2% target for the first time in a year, reinforcing the outlook for further interest-rate hikes.

U.S. consumer sentiment exceeded estimates in April on Americans’ increasingly favorable views of their finances, University of Michigan survey data showed April 27.

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in April to the second-highest level since 2000 as Americans grew more upbeat about both current conditions and the economic outlook, according to figures April 24 from the New York-based Conference Board.

U.S. consumer debt rose in February by the least in five months as credit card balances stalled, indicating Americans’ appetite for borrowing waned further after a fourth- quarter shopping spree.

U.S. consumer sentiment advanced last week to a 17-year high as greater optimism about household finances and the buying climate more than offset a deterioration in views about the economy, the Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index showed April 5.

Consumer sentiment in March reached the highest level since 2004 as a solid labor market and growth expectations offset concerns about tariffs and stock-market volatility, a University of Michigan survey showed March 29.

Consumer spending lagged behind income growth for a second month in February, showing American households were taking a breather after a late-2017 surge. Inflation, meanwhile, ticked up.

U.S. consumer confidence declined in March for the first time this year on tempered optimism about the outlook for the economy, according to figures March 27 from the New York-based Conference Board.