Driven by skyrocketing energy prices, consumers fell into arrears on all kinds of debt in the second quarter, with credit card delinquencies hitting a record of 4.81 percent of accounts in the second quarter.

The American Bankers Association, citing the run-up in gas prices to record levels in the past month, said third-quarter results likely will be even worse than the second quarter's, which hit the highest level since the ABA began tracking the number in 1973.

"The last two quarters have not been pretty," said James Chessen, the ABA's chief economist. "Gas prices are taking huge chunks out of wallets, leaving some individuals with little left to meet their financial obligations."

In addition to gasoline prices, rising interest rates are beginning to take their toll on consumers, pushing payments up on the estimated 60 percent of credit cards that carry variable rates as well as on other debt payments that are pegged to the prime rate.

Delinquencies also rose for most of the eight kinds of consumer loans the ABA monitors, including home equity loans, on which missed payments rose to 2.75 percent of accounts in the second quarter, up from 2.61 percent in the previous quarter.

Overall, ABA's index of past due payments on eight kinds of loans rose to 2.22 percent at the end of June, up from 2.03 percent in the first quarter and up from 1.8 percent a year ago.

Analysts gave varied interpretations of rising loan delinquencies and said some factors other than energy and rising rates could have helped push them higher.

Some economists noted that although the number of delinquent accounts rose, the actual dollar value of delinquent payments actually fell a bit, according to statistics kept by the Federal Reserve.

That almost certainly meant that rising gasoline prices played a big role, if not the biggest, in the higher delinquencies, said Richard DeKaser, chief economist for Cleveland-based National City Corp.

"You're seeing a disproportionate amount of delinquency in small balance accounts and that, to me, is symptomatic of some kind of short-term payment shock," he said. In his view, that suggested that gasoline "is the culprit."

Some analysts said more permissive lending standards, which have helped less creditworthy borrowers get both credit cards and mortgages, likely also played a role.

"This has to do with easy access to credit as much as anything else," said Zachary Karabell, senior economic analyst for Fred Alger & Co., a New Jersey investment firm that provides economic analysis to clients.

Mark Zandi, chief economist at Economy.com speculated that strapped consumers facing the stricter federal bankruptcy law that takes effect next month may have stopped making credit card and other loan payments in anticipation of filing for bankruptcy protection under current law, which is less onerous on debtors.

Zandi noted that some credit card companies probably also had raised minimum payments to borrowers, something that new federal regulations require all card issuers to do by year-end. Although most credit card issuers only are expected to make the changes beginning next month, some already have done so, he said.

Zandi said surging gasoline prices, coupled with higher home heating costs as cold weather sets in and higher minimum credit card payments, all suggest that delinquencies would likely rise further.

"I'm concerned about [the second quarter increase] because it shows just how stressed many households were even before the energy price increases after the hurricanes," he said.

"I think this is a harbinger of more problems to come," Zandi added. "I think we should look for fresh new records [in delinquencies] in the fourth quarter and first quarter of next year as [credit card] payments rise higher and as energy prices really begin to bite."

Analysts also expressed mixed views about whether the rising delinquencies suggested broader economic problems in the coming months.

"American consumer spending has been the economic driver," said Daniel Ray, editor-in-chief of North Palm Beach, Fla., loan tracking firm Bankrate.com.

"With this [credit card delinquency] statistic, we're seeing some indication that the driver is rubbing his eyes. It's too early to say if the driver is about to pull over and take a nap," he said.

"It's not a good sign when delinquencies rise," agreed Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for Downtown-based PNC Financial Services Group. But, he added, "There are enough other positive things in the consumer sector to say this is not a signal for some significant retrenchment ... that could threaten the economy."