Consumers borrowed much more than expected in March, as both student and car loans shot up and credit card borrowing rose after declining in January and February.

Analysts are unsure whether this news signals a real pickup in demand or just a need to lean more on credit, as job and income growth remain weak. For the week ended May 11, the S&P 500 Index declined 1.1% to 1,353 (for a year-to-date total return-including price change plus dividends-of about 8.4%). The yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 7 basis points to 1.84% (for a year-to-date decrease of 5 basis points).

Consumer credit surged $21.4 billion in March, more than double analysts' forecasts and the strongest jump for any month since November 2001. Over the last 19 months, consumer credit balances have seen 18 monthly increases.

Nonrevolving credit, which includes student and car loans, accounted for the largest part of the credit increase, climbing $16.2 billion for the month. The surge in student loans could mean that borrowers are trying to lock in interest rates before July-when costs on subsidized Stafford loans are expected to double.

As for revolving credit, which includes credit cards, debt rose $5.1 billion after declining $2.3 billion in February and $2.9 billion in January. The overall credit figures exclude home mortgages and other real estate secured loans.

The U.S. trade deficit widened by $6.4 billion in March to $51.8 billion, led by a 5.2% increase in imports. Exports increased nearly 3% to $186.8 billion. The 14% rise in the deficit was the sharpest one-month increase since last May's jump of almost 16%. On an annualized basis, the trade deficit is nearly $600 billion-about 7% higher than the previous year.

Even though U.S. exports to the 27-nation European Union (EU) rose 11.5% to a record $25.1 billion, the trade gap with those countries jumped to $9.8 billion, from $5.9 billion in February. This is because imports from the EU rose almost twice as much, 22.7%, to a record of nearly $35.0 billion. The deficit with China climbed to $21.7 billion and could surpass last year's gap of $295.5 billion-an all-time high for any country.

"With Europe going through a marked slowdown, if not an outright recession, and with many emerging countries in soft-landing mode, U.S. exports aren't growing as fast as imports," said Roger Aliaga-Díaz, Vanguard senior economist. "U.S. imports are holding stronger because, in relative terms, the United States is faring better in the global economy."

The seasonally adjusted Producer Price Index dropped 0.2% in April, the first decline this year and the biggest since October 2011. Economists had predicted that prices would be flat. Much of the drop stemmed from a 1.4% decline in energy prices, including gasoline, residential natural gas, and liquefied petroleum gas. Excluding food and energy, prices for finished goods increased 0.2%.

A busier week of reports lies ahead with the release of the Consumer Price Index, retail sales, and business inventories on Tuesday; new residential construction, industrial production, and the latest minutes of the Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee on Wednesday; and The Conference Board's leading economic indicators on Thursday.

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