WASHINGTON, June 6 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer credit increased in April at an annual rate of 4.2 percent, down from the revised 6.2 percent growth pace in the prior month, the Federal Reserve reported Friday.

    The 4.2 percent gain pushed the nation's total consumer credit up to an all-time high of 2.564 trillion dollars in April.

    The U.S. central bank does not included loans secured by real estate, such as mortgages, in its measurement of consumer debt.

    In April, consumer borrowing in revolving loans, a category that includes primarily credit card debt, edged up by only 0.4 percent at an annual rate.

    That was sharply down from a revised 7.4 percent jump in March and was the weakest performance since a 1.8 percent decline in May2005.

    Demand for nonrevolving credit used to finance cars, vacations, education and other things, however, rose by 6.5 percent in April, up from a 5.5 percent gain in March.

    Consumer credit reflects the situation of consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of overall U.S. economic activity and is a major force driving the economy to grow.

    During the January-to-March period, U.S. consumer credit increased at an annual rate of 5.1 percent, compared with the growth pace of 3.9 percent in the final quarter of last year, according to the revised data released by the Fed on Friday.