I posted earlier on Australian credit card purchases and balance for January
Data is here (srsly, don't bother clicking, its just the data and me ranting about how late it hit the wires)
I did mention in the post that the data would just be ignored anyway ... and guess, what ... wrong!
CommSec (a part of CBA) have pulled out a great nugget or two (bolding mine):
- The average credit card balance fell by $77.10 (2.4 per cent) to $3,114.30 in January. In smoothed terms (12 month average) the average balance was down by 1.5 per cent - the biggest fall in 21 months
- Credit limits: Usage of credit card limits eased from 35.2 per cent to 34.3 per cent in January - a 14-year low.
CommSec also add a handy What does it all mean? In brief (bolding mine again):
Consumers continue to be savvy about plastic card use. The average credit balance has gone backwards over the past year with the smoothed measure at a near two-year low. And given that the inflation rate is above 2 per cent, it would suggest that credit card debt is falling even further in real terms. Cardholders are frequently paying off credit card debt by the due date and using cards to maximise loyalty points. In addition usage of credit card limits is holding at a 14-year low.
More good news for the Australian economy.
