U.S. consumer debt rose in the final months of 2012 for the first time in four years, a sign that Americans may be starting to reach the end of cutting back on credit, data from the New York Federal Reserve showed on Thursday.



Total consumer debt rose 0.3 percent to $11.34 trillion in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the previous quarter, the New York Fed said in its quarterly household debt and credit report.



Consumer debt peaked in the third quarter of 2008 as the global financial crisis was taking hold. Since then, debt has fallen by about by 10 percent, or $1.3 trillion, in large part due to a drop in outstanding mortgages as Americans modified or defaulted on their loans.