U.S. household debt reaches $16.90 trillion

U.S. household debt increased by 2.4 percent to record $16.90 trillion from October through December last year, the largest quarterly increase in 20 years, a Federal Reserve report showed on Thursday.

Total household debt stood at $16.9 trillion by the end of December, an increase of more than $1.3 trillion compared to the same period one year ago.

Credit card balances rose by about 6.6 percent to $986 billion, recording an increase of $130 billion year-on-year, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

The report also showed that mortgage debt jumped to $11.92 trillion at the end of December, marking a nearly $1 trillion increase in mortgage balances in 2022.

Meanwhile auto loan balances increased by $28 billion in the fourth quarter, consistent with the upward trajectory seen since 2011.

The rise in debt came in which the U.S. central bank raised its benchmark interest rate seven times last year, currently reaching a 4.5 percent range of 4.75 percent from near zero in March 2022.