For the first time in ✱more than two years, credit card debt is falling, as banks make it more difficult for 💎consumers to put purchases on plastic. 

That’s according to data from the Federal Reserve released Monday, which showed revolving credit (mostly credit card debt) held by households fell by $600 million in June to $1.2 trillion, the first time since March, 2021 that credit card debt has declined. May's total had been a record high.

The drop-off in credit card debt likely reflects banks having made credit harder to come by for consumers, Shandor Whitcher, an economist at Moody’s Analytics, said in a commentary. Banks have been raising minimum credꦡit scores and cutting ♍down on credit limits for credit cards as the Federal Reserve has 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:raised its benchmark interest rate over the last year and a half, making borrowing costlier and raising the risk of an economic downturn. 

The decline in credit card debt doesn't necessarily mean that household budgets are getting healthier. Nonrevolving credit, which includes larger non-mortgage loans such as car loans and student loans—rose by $18.4 billion, more than offsetting the decline in revolving credit. Furthermore, because the credit card debt measure includes debt incurred by people who pay off their cards every month, it’s unclear whether the decline in card debt represents people paying down their balances, or pulling back on spending.