Consumer credit rose at an annual growth rate of 6.8 percent in May, the strongest since a 15 percent growth rate last November, the Federal Reserve said Monday.

The May increase left consumer borrowing at $1.706 trillion, a gain of $9.5 billion following a revised $8.6 billion increase in April.

Demand for revolving credit, the category that includes credit cards, rose by $2.4 billion to $712.2 billion, an annual growth rate of 4.1 percent, down from a 7.5 percent growth rate in April.

Nonrevolving credit, the category that includes auto loans, rose by $7.1 billion to $993.6 billion, an annual growth rate of 8.7 percent, compared with a 5.1 percent rate of increase in April.

Consumer demand has stayed strong, with analysts citing that the downturn was relatively mild and the Federal Reserve has held interest rates this year at the lowest levels in decades.