NEW YORK -

For the first time this year, S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian spotted a rise in auto defaults.

But the uptick analysts noticed was the smallest amount possible.

According to the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices released this week, data through July showed the auto financing default rate came in at 0.31%, marking just a 1 basis point upward move from the all-time low reading set a month earlier.

A year ago, as the pandemic took hold, the default reading declined for seven consecutive months, falling from 1.02% in December 2019 to what at the time created the all-time low reading of 0.40% by June. Then, the rate rose five months in a row to come in at 0.64% in both November and December.

With the industry looking for defaults to return what experts might consider normal, the latest reading is only about a third of what the level was in July 2018 when analysts pegged it at 0.97%.

Elsewhere in the July data, S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian reported the composite rate — a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults —declined 1 basis point to 0.40%.

Like in auto financing, analysts the first mortgage default rate in July also increased 1 basis point from its all-time low to come in at 0.27%.

Meanwhile, the update mentioned the bank card default rate fell 32 basis points to 2.51%.

Looking at the five major metropolitan areas analysts track for this monthly update, they discovered three cities posted lower default rates in July versus the previous month.

S&P Dow Jones Indices and Experian said Dallas dipped 2 basis points to 0.40%, while New York and Los Angeles each dropped 1 basis point to 0.42% and 0.36%, respectively.

Miami jumped 9 basis points higher to 0.51%, while Chicago ticked up 1 basis point to 0.39%.

Jointly developed by S&P Indices and Experian, analysts noted the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices are published monthly with the intent to accurately track the default experience of consumer balances in four key loan categories: auto, bankcard, first mortgage lien and second mortgage lien.

The indices are calculated based on data extracted from Experian’s consumer credit database. This database is populated with individual consumer loan and payment data submitted by lenders to Experian every month.

Experian’s base of data contributors includes leading banks and mortgage companies and covers approximately $11 trillion in outstanding loans sourced from 11,500 lenders.