NEW YORK, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumer debt grew 17.9 billion U.S. dollars from May to June, as a credit crunch brought on by Federal Reserve rate hikes drove a sharp gain in the amount of outstanding credit for payments like mortgages and car loans, reported The Hill on Monday.

"The numbers, which are not adjusted for inflation, come in well ahead of expectations at 13 billion dollars and nearly double the increase from the previous month at 9.4 billion dollars," said the report.

"Debt levels on lump-sum purchases like houses and student loans increased 18.4 billion dollars, offset by a 0.6 percent decrease in the amount of 'revolving' credit, which includes things like credit cards and lines of credit," it said.

Despite the month-over-month decline in revolving credit, credit card debt weighing on U.S. consumers is at an all-time high of more than 1 trillion dollars. After rising steadily over the last decade, credit card debt levels started easing up in March 2020, when the government started sending out checks to help households weather the coronavirus pandemic, it added.