Americans stepped up their borrowing in the third quarter, signaling stronger consumer demand, but borrowers fell further behind on repaying the nation's $1 trillion in student loans.

Household debt outstanding, which includes mortgages, credit cards, auto loans and student loans, rose $127 billion between July and September to $11.28 trillion, the first increase since late last year and the biggest in more than five years, Federal Reserve Bank of New York figures showed Thursday.

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