Consumer credit: Surprise $1.8 billion jump

Consumer borrowing showed a surprise rise in January, snapping a three-month decline and signaling that households may have started to loosen their purse strings.

Total consumer borrowing rose by $1.8 billion to $2.564 trillion in January, according to the Fed. That's an increase from a revised $2.563 trillion in December.

Economists were expecting consumer credit to fall by $5 billion in January, according to a consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com.