The average credit card balance fell by $77.10 (2.4 per cent) to $3,114.30 in January. Compared with a year ago, the average credit card balance was down 1.7 per cent. In smoothed terms (12 month average) the average balance was down by 1.5 per cent – the biggest fall in 21 months.
Of credit cards attracting interest charges, the average outstanding balance rose by $11.10 in January to $1,981.50. The average balance accruing interest is down by 4.6 per cent on a year ago. In smoothed terms (12 month average) the average balance was down by 5.7 per cent on a year ago – the biggest decline in 16 months.
The average credit card limit rose by $11.80 to $9,075.90 in January. The average credit card limit in January was down 0.1 per cent on a year ago. Usage of credit card limits eased from 35.2 per cent to 34.3 per cent in January – a 14-year low.
On average, there were 11.3 transactions made per each credit card account in January, up from 11.1 a year ago. The average value of purchases was $119.4 in January. The rolling annual average of purchases eased from $129.4 to $128.9 in January – an 11-year low.
The number of cash advances recorded a 2.4 per cent annual fall in smoothed (12-month average) terms in December.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
