With sequential comparisons coming against default rates at or near historic lows, the auto loan portion of the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices for June ticked slightly higher for the second month in a row.

The auto loan default reading for June came in at 0.96 percent, up from 0.93 percent a month earlier. June’s level still marked an improvement from a year earlier when the default rate stood at 1 percent.

The slight auto loan uptick didn’t stop the national composite rate — a comprehensive measure of changes in consumer credit defaults — from dropping to the lowest point in more than 10 years. The composite rate ticked down to 1.02 percent in June. It stood at 1.34 percent in June of last year.

In other credit sectors, the first mortgage default rate continued its string of declines, dropping for the eighth month in a row to 0.89 percent. Meanwhile, the bank card default rate rose to 3.02 percent in June; its third consecutive increase from its historical low posted in March.

“Consumer credit default rates continue to drift lower and have reached a historical low,” said David Blitzer, managing director and chairman of the index committee for S&P Dow Jones Indices.

“Recent economic reports are encouraging with the unemployment rate now at a six-year low and strong job creation in recent months,” Blitzer continued.

“The continued declines in consumer default rates confirm other indicators of an improving economy,” he went on to say. “Credit standards for mortgage loans continue to be somewhat restrictive and may be contributing to low first mortgage default rates.”

Turning to the top five metropolitan areas the committee tracks for this report, defaults in Dallas moved slightly higher in June after establishing a historic low in May. Defaults in Big D came in at 0.87 percent in June, up from 0.77 percent in May.

Only one city had a lower default rate than Dallas. Los Angeles’ rate came in at 0.75 percent as the City of Angels joined Chicago, Miami and New York at recording their lowest default rates since the start of the last recession.

Miami’s rate still remains highest among these five places at 1.68 percent.

“All five cities — Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Miami and New York — remain below default rates seen a year ago,” Blitzer said.

Jointly developed by S&P Indices and Experian, Blitzer reiterated the S&P/Experian Consumer Credit Default Indices are published monthly with the intent to accurately track the default experience of consumer balances in four key loan categories: auto, bankcard, first mortgage lien and second mortgage lien.

The indices are calculated based on data extracted from Experian’s consumer credit database. This database is populated with individual consumer loan and payment data submitted by lenders to Experian every month.

Experian’s base of data contributors includes leading banks and mortgage companies and covers approximately $11 trillion in outstanding loans sourced from 11,500 lenders.