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.
Again, these things are predictable. When you have a stable system with salaries meeting costs, and you suddenly increase fuel costs, and perhaps have actors in the market attempting to exacerbate the predictable follow-on effects from that, eventually the increased costs will drive up debt utilization, even to a point where debt can no longer be utilized.
And that will eventually have its own follow-on effects on demand, which will then move predictably through the system.
