ALEXANDRIA, Va. — July saw consumer bankruptcies fall substantially, continuing a downward trend in filings for the seventh straight month, according to the American Bankruptcy Institute.

The rate of consumer bankruptcies decreased 18 percent nationwide during this past month, noted the ABI, utilizing data from the National Bankruptcy Research Center.

“The continued decline in consumer bankruptcies in tandem with a sluggish economy is a reflection of the deleveraging of household debts and tightening of consumer credit over the past year,” said ABI executive director Samuel Gerdano.

“Should these trends persist, we expect to see fewer consumer bankruptcies in 2011 than were filed in 2010,” he added.

Following the recent downward trend, the overall consumer filing total for July reached 113,470, down from 137,698 recorded during July 2010.

ABI also noted that July's filings marked a 5-percent decrease from June’s total of 119,768.

On the other hand, data showed the percentage of chapter 13 filings for July came in at 29 percent, a 1-percent increase from June.