The Day at a Glance | May 8 2023

*Consumer credit in the United States widely exceeded expectations in March.

*Consumer confidence in Europe logged deterioration in its May figure (to -13.1 points vs -8.7 prev.). 

*On Friday, Scope Ratings placed the United States rating as a long-term debt issuer and unsecured senior debt in local and foreign currency under review. Currently, US debt has a AA rating, and its possible downgrade is associated with the risks arising from the debt ceiling in the US. 

Economic environment

Credit reached a four-month high in March. Consumer credit in the United States reached 26.5 billion dollars, above the 17 billion expected by the consensus, and the 15.29 billion dollar figure recorded in February. Moreover, revolving credit (which includes credit cards) increased in 17.6 billion with respect to the previous month. This is the largest monthly variation in 12 months. The hike in credit could be attributed to increased use of credit cards to cover basic spending, as suggested by the recent survey carried out by Bloomberg News, in which more than half of those surveyed pointed out that they don´t count on financial resources to cover $400 dollars’ worth of unexpected spending without going into debt. Lastly, non-revolving credit, which is made up of school loans and loans for the purchase of vehicles, increased in 8.9 billion dollars; this suggests resilience despite the financial situation.