More consumers are finding it harder 🌊to make debt payments as household debt rises and borrowing costs compound.

Credit-card delinquency is at its highest level since 2012, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As inflation has 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:pushed up prices for everyday iꦬtems, the Federal Reserve's 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:fight to tame it has pushed up borroཧwing costs on all kinds of loans, including credit cards.

In response, consumers are more concerned about their ability to pay their debts. On average, people believe there is a more than 13% chance they will miss a minimum debt payment over the next three months, according to a new survey from the New York Fed. That's the highest monthly reading since April 2020.

Credit Spending Is Increasing

More households are relying on credit as a way to afford essentials now that pandemic-era savings are dwindling, economists at Wells Fargo wrote this week.

"With excess savings depleted and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:a shaky jobs market raising doubts about future income growth, the role of credit is becoming a critical factor in the staying power 𒅌of the consumer," the Wells Fargo economists wrote.

Much of the credit card activity is coming fromꦅ borrowers with lower credit 🅠scores, often referred to as subprime borrowers. A Transunion study found those borrowers were having to rely more heavily on credit cards as prices remained elevated.

Credit card balances grew 8.6% in the second quarter and total balances were $1.05 trillion, according to the report by TransUnion. The average💮 debt per credit card borrower was $6,329.

“Higher-risk prime and below segments seem to be experiencing more significant inflationary pressures and as such, relying on their cards more, evident in increasing balances and higher utilization," said Paul Siegfried, senior vice president and credit card business leader at TransUnion in the report. "We expect delinquency rates to continue to rise, though the growth rate should decelerate.”