NEW YORK — For the first time in a decade, more people paid their credit card bills on time in the third quarter this year than in the second quarter.

The delinquency rate on bank-issued cards like those bearing MasterCard and Visa logos fell to 1.1 percent for the June-to-September period, from a rate of 1.17 percent in the prior three months, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

The 6 percent drop is significant not just for its size but also for its timing, since delinquency rates usually rise in the third quarter from the prior period, said Ezra Becker of TransUnion's financial services group. Taken together with the more than 11 percent decline seen between the first and second quarters, the results indicate consumers are getting better at handling their debt.

The 2009 third-quarter delinquency rate was basically flat with the 2008 third quarter, when 1.09 percent of card payments were 90 days or more past due. TransUnion measures credit card delinquencies at 90 days because three months is considered an indicator that the card holder will default, since it is difficult to make up that many missed payments.

Iran's war games fuel rise in oil price

Oil prices rose above $78 a barrel today as Iran's war games, aimed at protecting its nuclear plants, deepened tensions in the oil-rich region.

Prices were also boosted by a weakening dollar, as investors awaited economic data expected to show the U.S. economic recovery is struggling to gather pace.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for December delivery was up 90 cents to $78.37 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 26 cents to settle at $77.20 on Friday.

Iran on Sunday began large-scale air defense war games aimed at protecting its nuclear facilities from attack as an air force commander boasted the country could deter any military strike by Israel, state television reported.

Analysts said the military exercises sharpened tensions in the Middle East, but they didn't expect supplies to be affected.

Oil has traded between $76 and $82 for more than a month amid concerns a sluggish global economy may not justify the price surge from $32 in December.