Trumps failing economy continues to unravel the lives of millions of Americans.
"Credit card debt hits record high of $4 Trillion and another signal of weaker demand, the closing of credit cards and other accounts, jumped to its highest level since 2010, while flows into serious delinquency for credit cards rose 5 percent, up from 4.8 percent in the third quarter."
Red flags emerge as Americans' debt load hits another record | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Some red flags emerged for the U.S. economy late last year as credit card inquiries fell, student-loan delinquencies remained high and riskier borrowers drove home automobiles, according to a report that could signal a downturn is on the horizon.
The U.S. household debt and credit report, published Tuesday by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, showed that the overall debt shouldered by Americans edged up to a record $13.5 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2018. It has risen consistently since 2013, when debt bottomed out after the last recession.
While mortgage debt, by far the largest slice, slipped for the first time in two years, other forms of borrowing rose including that of credit cards, which at $870 billion matched its pre-crisis peak in 2008.
Consumer spending accounts for two-thirds of growth in the world’s largest economy and it is expected to hold strong this year even as the overall expansion cools after a hot 2018.
However one sign of consumer demand, credit inquiries, slipped in the second half of 2018 to the lowest level recorded by the New York Fed.
Another signal of weaker demand, the closing of credit cards and other accounts, jumped to its highest level since 2010, while flows into serious delinquency for credit cards rose 5 percent, up from 4.8 percent in the third quarter.
Serious-delinquency flows, a warning bell for economists because they can prelude defaults, spiked in the third quarter for student debt and remained there in the fourth quarter, with 9.1 percent of the $1.5-trillion total debt seriously delinquent.