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Credit card delinquency rates fell last month at major U.S. lenders, including Bank of America Corp and JPMorgan Chase & Co, in the latest sign that Americans are starting to climb out of the recession.

On the downside, credit losses from uncollectable loans were still high, and worsened for JPMorgan, Capital One Financial Corp and American Express Co, according to regulatory filings by the companies on Thursday. And credit losses for many lenders were up from a year earlier.

But delinquencies are a better gauge of future loan performance, and with fewer consumers late on their bills, the outlook for credit losses over the summer may be improving.

JPMorgan reinforced that hope on Wednesday when it reported robust first-quarter earnings and modified its previously gloomy outlook on credit cards. The bank said it had trimmed the loss expectations for its card business and cut the card unit’s reserve for loan losses.

Analysts had expected seasonal factors, including tax season, to improve delinquency rates. More consumers have cash on hand from tax refunds and can put that money toward paying down debt.

But an improving economy is likely part of the story too. Retail sales jumped in March, and businesses boosted inventories in February at the highest rate since July 2008, signaling they are seeing higher demand. Economic reports on Thursday signaled that the recovery may be tepid but were consistent with the economy recovering.

American Express continued to exhibit some of the most improving credit trends, as its delinquencies decreased from 3.6 percent over the previous two months to 3.3 percent in March. Its charge-offs increased slightly, from 7.4 percent in February to 7.5 percent in March, but remained among the lowest in the sector.

Bank of America said in a regulatory filing Thursday that its credit card charge-off rate — the rate at which it writes off loans as uncollectable — fell in March by almost a full percentage point from February, to 12.54 percent. Delinquencies fell to 7.07 percent from 7.23 percent.

Capital One charge-offs rose to 10.87 percent in March from 10.19 percent in February. But its accounts at least 30 days delinquent declined to 5.3 percent from 5.51 percent.

Citigroup Inc was due to report its monthly credit card data later Thursday.

Shares of Discover, Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase all rose in midday trading, while shares of American Express and Capital One fell.

Capital One was one of the weakest bank stocks, down 1.89 percent at $45.19.

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Tags: credit cards, Finance