Shocking Consumer Credit Numbers: Everyone Is Maxing Out Their Credit Card Ahead Of The Recession
While it is traditionally viewed as a B-grade indicator, the March consumer credit report from the Federal Reserve was an absolute shocked and confirmed what we have been saying for month: any excess savings accumulated by the US middle class are long gone, and in their place Americans have unleashed a credit-card fueled spending spree.
Here are the shocking numbers: in March, one month after the February print already came in more than double the $18 billion expected, consumer credit exploded to an absolutely blowout $52.435 billion, again more than double the expected $25 billion print, and the highest on record!
... the real stunner was revolving, or credit card debt, which more than doubled from the already elevated February print of $14.2 billion to a stunning $31.4 billion, the highest print on record... just in time for those credit card APR to starting moving higher, first slowly and then very fast.
While this unprecedented rush to buy everything on credit at a time when there were no notable Hallmark holidays should not come as much of a surprise, after all we have repeatedly shown that for the middle class any "excess savings" are now gone, long gone...
https://www.zerohedge.com/economics/shocking-consumer-credit-numbers-everyone-maxing-out-their-credit-card-ahead-recession