Credit card  balances fell in the first quarter of 2026, decreasing by $25 billion to $1.25 trillion, according to a  new report on household debt  by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York released Tuesday. Still, that's a 5.9% jump from a year earlier. At the same time, mortgage debt , auto loans , and home equity lines of credit were all higher, the New York Fed found. Overall, "household debt levels rose slightly, with modest increases in most debt types offsetting a seasonal decline in credit card balances," Daniel Mangrum, research economist at the New York Fed, said in a statement. Near the end of the year, credit card debt often ticks higher as consumers increase their spending during the peak holiday shopping season. Then it typically falls in the first quarter. Despite the decrease in credit card debt, soaring gas prices have increasingly strained household budgets. A gallon of regular gas averaged $4.50 nationally on Tuesday, up from about $3.14 a year ago, according to AAA .…