<http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050928/ap_on_bi_ge/late_loans>
Gas Prices Blamed for Late Credit Payments
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer 2 hours, 43 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - The percentage of credit card payments that were past due shot up to a record high in the second quarter as surging gasoline prices strained budgets and made it difficult for some people to pay their bills.
The American Bankers Association reported Wednesday that the seasonally adjusted percentage of credit card accounts 30 or more days past due rose in the April-to-June quarter to 4.81 percent. That followed a delinquency rate of 4.76 percent in the first quarter and was the highest since the association began collecting this information in 1973.
"The rise in gas prices is really stretching budgets to the breaking point for some people," the association's chief economist, Jim Chessen, said in an interview. "Gas prices are taking huge chunks out of wallets, leaving some individuals with little left to meet their financial obligations." ....
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