CREDIT card spending rose in the first two months of the third quarter compared to a year earlier as consumer sentiment improved, Singapore's consumer credit bureau said yesterday.

Consumers owed an average of $4,489 per person on their credit cards in August, up one per cent from $4,446 a year earlier, according to Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS).

In July, the average outstanding balance of active credit-card accounts for each person was $4,483, an increase of 0.2 per cent compared to the average spend of $4,473 in July 2008.

Though the increase was small, that was the first time since January that average monthly balances had grown compared to a year earlier, CBS said.

'The increase in credit card spending is in line with the clear but modest recovery that is underway in the local and global economy,' said William Lim, executive director of CBS.

'It reflects improving consumer confidence that the economy and job markets are in recovery phase.'

'The higher average balances chalked up could also be attributed to the promotions by credit card issuers,' he added.

While total credit card spending rose, delinquency levels are at the lowest in seven years, CBS said.

In both July and August, just 4.9 per cent of consumers had a delinquent account that was 30 days or more past due and closed with an outstanding balance - the lowest since October 2002, shortly after CBS was set up.

The most recent peak in the proportion of delinquent card-holders was in January last year, when it reached 7.2 per cent.

The CBS data also show a slight drop in the percentage of cardholders who revolve their credit card debt - that is, roll over part of the debt to the next month, instead of paying it off in full.

In both July and August, 37.3 per cent of credit card holders had at least one card account with debt that they had not paid in full, down from 38.7 per cent and 37.7 per cent in the same months last year.