What March dip in lease approvals could mean

Swapalease.com reported on Thursday that lease credit approvals are lower again after a hike in February levels.

Site officials indicated lease credit approvals for March finished at 66.7 percent, down from the February mark of 70 percent.

The site suspected that lease credit approvals may be falling back into the trend of late 2015, with lower approval percentages. Monthly lease approvals are up 0.6 percent from a year ago. But Swapalease.com pointed out that in comparison to the previous month, vehicle lease credit approvals have taken a slight dip.

Although consumer confidence is currently exceeding the forecasted percentage for the month, Swapalease.com executive vice president Scot Hall referenced a report from Bloomberg that mentioned the percentage of consumers who said that they would be buying a vehicle also slipped 1.6 percent from last month

Hall acknowledged this trend, mixed with a recent increase in gas prices, could mean a peak for vehicle sales in 2016.

“We think consumer credit remains generally healthy in the broader picture, and we’re more than likely experiencing the normal ups and downs of a healthy market,” Hall said.

“As always, we’ll continue to keep a watchful eye on this latest dip, particularly against recent data that shows interest in motor vehicles may be peaking,” he went on to say.