NEW YORK — While Standard & Poor's and Experian noticed defaults rising for first and second mortgages, officials spotted continued positive gains for auto loans.

Based on data through November 2010, the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices showed auto-loan defaults dropped 8.07 percent to an index reading of 1.76 percent. A month earlier, it stood at 1.92 percent after it crept above 2 percent in September.

Despite the strengthening vehicle contract performance, the index's composite mark deteriorated by 3.5 percent to a November reading of 3.13 percent. Officials emphasized the November reading still was an improvement of 33.75 percent against the previous year.

As mentioned, what pulled the November reading downward were monthly default rates for first and second mortgages climbing to 3.05 percent and 1.80 percent, respectively. Standard & Poor's and Experian said this was the first rise in defaults on first mortgages since December 2009, but the year-over-year decline still settled at 34.84 percent.

Turning over to bank cards, the November index reading dipped slightly to 6.84 percent. This marked a 0.97-percent decline from the previous month and a 17.90-percent drop from the previous year.

Moving on to a look at the data by geographic region, officials noticed consumer credit defaults varied across major cities and regions of the U.S.

Among the five major metropolitan statistical areas included in the index, only Dallas had declining default rates, posting a 2.90-percent drop to a November reading of 2.20 percent.

Officials indicated Los Angeles and Chicago experienced slight increases in defaults during November to 3.25 percent and 3.34 percent, respectively. They added Miami had the largest monthly increase to 10.26 percent, driven by a large jump in first mortgage defaults.

"Default rates for auto loans and bank cards declined in November while first and second mortgages experienced somewhat higher defaults. However, the deterioration in the mortgage sector may be temporary: rates of new defaults have been declining for over a year with occasional brief interruptions," explained David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee.

"Government economic data point to improvements in the bank card and auto sectors with increases in credit balances and rising sales," Blitzer continued.

"The figures for five leading metropolitan areas confirm key housing trends found in other S&P reports," he went on to say. "Los Angeles is experiencing the beginning of stability in housing while Miami, and much of Florida, continue to face credit default concerns. Other metropolitan areas are seeing gradual improvements in consumer credit defaults as their economies stabilize."