(Pixabay)
(ZEROHEDGE) – So much for credit being tight. One month ago, not long after we warned that consumer credit was about to get much tighter in the aftermath of one of the most depressing Senior Loan Officer Opinion Surveys, which saw near record tightening in lending standards coupled with a historic plunge in credit demand, we observed that – as one would generally expect – growth in U.S. credit card debt had ground to a crawl, as revolving credit rose by just $5 billion, down sharply from the $12.8 billion in January, down from the $13.7 billion LTM average, and the lowest single increase since April 2021.
Looking at the data, we concluded that "while it is unclear if credit card usage rose at the slowest pace in two years due to weak demand or a sudden squeeze in supply – obviously we will have more information in one month when the next SLOOS hits – the implication is clear: one of the most powerful economic lifelines is grinding to a halt."
WND is now on Trump's Truth Social! Follow us @WNDNews
Well, maybe not. Ever hear the saying never bet against (the stupidity of) the U.S. consumer? Well, fast forward one month when moments ago the latest consumer credit data from the Fed was released and it was a doozy: instead of printing at a "credit-crunchy" subdued level, with the Street expecting only a modest increase from February's $15 billion to $17 billion in March, the Fed reported that the actual amount of new credit card debt was a whopping $26.514 billion, smashing expectations by almost $10 billion.
The post Credit card debt explodes at 2nd-fastest pace on record appeared first on WND.
