On Tuesday, a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of new york pointed out that the growth rate of American household debt in the third quarter was the fastest in 15 years due to the sharp increase in credit card usage and mortgage balance.

between July and September this year, the total debt of the United States increased by $351 billion, the largest nominal quarterly increase in 27, bringing the total debt of American households to a record $16.5 trillion, up 2.2% from the previous quarter and 8.3% from the same period of last year.

after the increase of $31 billion in the second quarter, this increase is equivalent to an annual increase of $1.27 trillion.

In the past year, due to the inflation rate approaching the highest speed in more than 4 years, household debt surged under the rising interest rate and strong consumer demand.

the biggest factor causing the debt burden comes from the balance of mortgage loans, which increased by $1 trillion to $11.7 trillion compared with the same period of last year, followed by credit card debt, which climbed to $93 billion.

According to the report released by the Federal Reserve Bank of new york, the credit card balance has increased by more than 15% compared with the same period in 221, which is the largest annual increase in more than 2 years. Fed researchers pointed out in an article that this growth is much higher than the data of the past 18 years.

DonghoonLee, economic research consultant of the Federal Reserve Bank of new york, said: "The balance of credit cards, mortgages and auto loans will continue to increase in the third quarter of 222, reflecting strong consumer demand and higher prices. However, in the case of rising interest rates, the issuance of new mortgages has slowed down to the pre-epidemic level. "

researchers at the Federal Reserve Bank of new york attribute the increase in credit card balance to "very strong" consumption, rising prices and consumers' use of large amounts of account savings.

with the increase of the balance, the situation of debt default is also increasing.

However, the researchers wrote that although "the delinquency rate is on the rise, it is still at a low level by historical standards, which indicates that consumers are managing their finances during the period of rising prices."

The Federal Reserve said that the balance of auto loans rose slightly to $1.52 trillion, while the debt of student loans fell slightly to $1.57 trillion, the lowest level since the second quarter of 221, due to the extension of grace period and the Biden administration's efforts to forgive some education loan debts.

Although the auto loan debt increased slightly quarter-on-quarter, it increased by 5.6% compared with the same period of last year.

with the sharp rise of interest rate, the interest rate of 3-year mortgage loan hovers around 7%, and the balance continues to climb. Despite this, new loans have fallen by nearly 17% to $633 billion.

even if the moratorium related to the epidemic expires, the foreclosure rate is still very low. The default rate of student loans is maintained at around 4%.