U.S. household debt delinquency worsened in the fourth quarter of 2025, according to a report issued by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York on Tuesday.
At the end of December 2025, 4.8 percent of outstanding debt was in some stage of delinquency, up 0.3 percentage points from the third quarter, said the latest Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit.
Transitions into early delinquency were mixed, with mortgages and student loans increasing while all other debt types held steady.
Meanwhile, transitions into serious delinquency ticked up for credit card balances, mortgages and student loans, while auto loan and home equity line of credit delinquency decreased slightly.
With household debt levels growing modestly, mortgage delinquencies continued to increase in the last quarter of 2025, said Wilbert van der Klaauw, an economic research advisor at the New York Fed.
Delinquency rates for mortgages are in line with historical levels, with worsening delinquency rates concentrated in lower-income areas and in areas with declining home prices, he added.
Total U.S. household debt increased by 191 billion U.S. dollars from the third quarter, hitting 18.78 trillion dollars at the end of 2025, according to the report.
U.S. household debt delinquency worsened slightly in Q4 2025
An increasing number of German consumers are considering buying electric vehicles (EVs) in the face of high fuel prices, according to a recent survey by the largest German online car trading platform, mobile.de.
As the Middle East tensions continue to drive up international oil and gas prices, the cost of automotive fuel has been rising steadily in many European countries.
According to fuel price data compiled by the German Association of the Automotive Industry, since the United States and Israel launched military strikes against Iran on February 28, gasoline prices in Germany have risen by nearly 20 percent, while diesel prices have shot up by more than 30 percent.
Results from a recent survey by mobile.de show that if gasoline prices remain at current high levels, 43 percent of respondents said they would switch to EVs, and 36 percent cited long-term cost savings as the most important reason for considering an EV purchase.
Additionally, the platform's data show that inquiries about used EVs surged by 66 percent in the first half of March.
"We are absolutely seeing much more interest on mobile.de for electric cars. What the German energy transition couldn't do, this current geopolitical situation has done in terms of transition to electric cars," said Ajay Bhatia, CEO of mobile.de.
In addition to high oil prices, government subsidies are also a key factor driving German consumers to consider purchasing EVs.
The German government announced the resumption of subsidies in January of this year, planning to invest 3 billion euros over the next few years to provide purchase subsidies for some 800,000 EVs.
Driven by the combined effects of high oil prices and subsidy policies, German consumers' interest in EVs has grown clearly. However, it remains to be seen whether this shift will evolve into a more sustained market trend.
"How long it will stay is anyone's guess, but at the moment we're absolutely seeing an increase, and sometimes these transitions need a catalyst. And this is definitely a catalyst that is seeing the transition to electric cars speed up," said Bhatia.
More Germans interested in buying EVs due to high oil prices: survey
