Americans' debt level rises in third quarter

Americans' debt level rose during the third quarter, driven by an increase in mortgage loans, according to a Federal Reserve Bank of New York report published on Tuesday.

Total U.S. household debt was $12.96 trillion in the three months to September, up $116 billion from the prior three months. Debt levels were $605 billion higher than during the third quarter of 2016.

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The proportion of overall debt that was delinquent rose slightly to 4.9 percent from 4.8 percent. (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)