Stock markets soared this week after strong U.S. consumer data provided further evidence that the economy has so far avoided a recession.

New data from credit card issuers supports this trend, analysts say, as the once-worsening trend of consumers struggling to pay off their credit card debt continues to stabilize. Monthly data from major credit card issuers such as Capital One Financial, Discover Financial and American Express show continued improvement, suggesting that the losses they have suffered from credit card debtors have peaked.

Consumers have experienced a “bifurcation,” as those with higher debt struggled during the first rate hikes, said Torsten Slok, chief economist at investment firm Apollo. But borrowers seem to be getting used to the high rates, and as the job market remains stable, they can still use their paychecks to pay their credit card payments.

“All the data suggests we are in a soft landing scenario,” Slok said in an interview, praising the Federal Reserve for its “skillful” management of the economy.

New data from major credit card issuers suggests they charged off fewer loans in July. The average loan charge-off rate among major credit card issuers fell to 2.14 percent last month, still higher than a year earlier but down from 2.23 percent the previous month, according to Jon Arfstrom, an analyst at RBC Capital Markets.

The data is not comprehensive, but it provides a snapshot of credit quality at credit card issuers, including store-focused lenders such as Synchrony Financial and Bread Financial. The slight improvement from last month is consistent with the view of card issuer CEOs that “card losses across the board have peaked,” Arfstrom wrote.

“We believe the industry is successfully navigating this environment,” he wrote.

The number of consumers who were more than 30 days late on their card payments did increase, but only slightly. Average delinquencies rose to 1.34 percent in July, up slightly from 1.31 percent, Arfstrom wrote.

The slight increase in delinquencies also followed six straight months of improvement, noted John Hecht, a consumer finance analyst at Jefferies. Additionally, the amount cardholders paid back on their cards increased, another sign that the “consumer remains resilient,” Hecht wrote.

The release of the monthly credit card data coincided with more important consumer data that also showed resilience. Retail sales rose 1% month-on-month in July to $709.7 billion, the Census Bureau said Thursday. Spending on autos, electronics, building materials, food and personal care products rose.

US consumer sentiment also improved in early August after months of declines, according to a report from the University of Michigan. The index rose to 67.8, up from July’s reading of 66.4 and beating economists’ estimates.

Another indicator of consumer spending – Walmart’s quarterly sales – rose to $115.3 billion in the second quarter, the retailer said this week.

The uptick may indicate that inflation-plagued consumers are gravitating toward Walmart’s cheaper options. But that trend comes with other signs that suggest consumption isn’t showing much sign of slowing, Apollo’s Slok said, citing improvements in restaurant reservations, air travel, hotel spending and Broadway show attendance.

“The bottom line is that there are still no signs of a recession in the U.S. and the U.S. economy is doing well,” Slok wrote in a note to clients.

Markets, meanwhile, continue to bet that a weaker economy will force the Fed to cut rates faster than officials have forecast. But the market is “making the same mistake it did in early 2024” when investors thought the Fed would finally cut rates, only to see the central bank refuse to take action, he wrote.