Consumer defaults for the 12 months through April were down 4.5% from a year earlier, according to credit research firm Boa Vista.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, credit default for the month of April was down 2.9% from the linked month and down 3.4% from April of the previous year.

The research firm explained that recent economic events have caused families to act very cautiously, leading to lower consumption and borrowings, which in turn caused a fall in delinquencies. Boa Vista also expects that a slow pace of borrowings will persist, given slow recovery in both the economy and the labor market.

Boa Vista added that if unemployment drops and interest rates fall through 2018, credit demand should grow, and with it, credit delinquencies.