23 April 2003 12:00am

Credit card defaults are rising at the low end of the market in the US. Fitch Ratings reported on Monday that using their measure, dubbed the sub prime credit card index, charge offs increased to 18.9 per cent from 17.7 per cent in February, to the highest level ever.

Fitch said factors contributing to the slide in the performance of sub prime credit card loan pools included aggressive underwriting, the decline in outstanding receivables and the weak US economy.