WASHINGTON: US consumers boosted their borrowing in November, as higher credit card spending partially offset slower growth in auto and student loans. Consumer borrowing rose $14 billion in November to a fresh record high of $3.53 trillion, the Federal Reserve said on Friday. Economists believe that strong job gains in the labour market will boost consumer confidence and convince households to finance purchases by taking on more debt. For November, the category that covers credit cards increased $5.7 billion after a much smaller $65 million gain in October. The category that covers auto loans and student loans rose by $8.3 billion. That was the smallest monthly gain for this category in more than three years.