U.S. consumers continue to consolidate debt, report says

The rate at which Americans repaid credit card debt during the month of April improved strongly, according to Moody’s, which announced in a recent report that charge-offs declined by 30 basis points to finish well below the March rate.

Moody’s analyst Jeff Hibbs said that "April’s improved charge-off rate, combined with our base-case expectation for the unemployment rate to plateau at 10.1 percent in the second half of the year and steadily improving delinquencies, support the long-awaited call that credit card charge-offs have indeed reached an inflection point."

The Moody’s report said that credit card delinquencies declined as well, reaching their lowest point since November 2008. April was the sixth consecutive month in which that rate had fallen, according to the report, which also noted that early stage delinquencies dropped as well.

Financial experts have cited reports similar to the recent one from Moody’s – including others that have documented measurable gains in consumer confidence and housing statistics – as evidence that the U.S. economy is finally beginning to right itself after the recent recession.