Difficulties with being able to pay off credit card debt continue to be an issue with some consumers, according to a recent report from Moody’s Investors Services.

The firm noted that the number of defaulted credit card accounts increased to 11.15 percent during January, which marks a percentage point climb of 0.83. Given forecasts for unemployment, Moody’s said it expects the charge-off rate to hit a high of 12 percent in the coming months.

Though the number of charge offs did increase during the first month of the year, the report from Moody’s did have a positive note about early-stage delinquencies, which are often a harbinger of later defaults.

According to the report, the number of credit card debt accounts that were more than 30 days late in payment dropped to 5.96 percent, which is the first time this metric has been below 6 percent since last September.

Moody’s senior vice president William Black said the drop in delinquencies in January bucks a seasonal trend that normally sees early-stage delinquencies increase at the beginning of the year.

“In fact, this month marks the first January since 2004 where early-stage delinquencies declined from the prior December, an improvement that is an encouraging indication of stability or improvement in charge-off rates by mid-year,” Black said.

The report from Moody’s did show that the payment rate on credit cards declined, falling to 17.53 percent. This metric gauges the average amount of principal that cardholders pay off on their accounts every month.

Though some consumers are having a hard time paying off their credit card debt, a recent report from the Federal Reserve Board shows that revolving consumer credit – mostly made up by credit card debt, declined by 9.5 percent in 2009.

Though this means that consumers are trying to pay off their credit card debt, it could also be an indication that companies are encountering more charge offs.

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