Consumers borrow more on credit cards
Published On 2 May 2007
Consumers spent more on their credit card in March than they did the month before, official figures suggest.According to the Bank of England, net credit card lending increased by £0.2 billion during the month - more than it grew in February.
These figures mean that the annual rate of growth for consumer credit remained at 5.9 per cent. For the last three-month period, the rate of growth fell by 0.3 per cent to 5.1 per cent.
However, the overall increase in total net lending to individuals in March was lower than in the previous month, totalling £10.8 billion.
Elsewhere in the Bank of England data, it was found that mortgage lending in the UK fell by £0.1 billion to £9.9. Similarly, the number of loans approved for home purchases fell to just 111,000.
Peter Newland, UK economist at Lehman Brothers, told the BBC that the figures could indicate "the first hint of a softening of housing activity on the back of recent monetary tightening and the expectation of more to come".
