Commenting on the data, Eric Leenders, Managing Director, Personal Finance at UK Finance said: “January saw higher levels of repayments on credit cards, which is expected at this time of year as customers pay off their festive spending. Meanwhile, households were careful with their outgoings as wage growth remains below the inflation rate. “Gross mortgage lending in January increased by almost 10 per cent compared to the same period last year, and was higher than the monthly average, as customers took advantage of mortgage deals on offer at the end of 2017.”
UK card spending rose by 5.8% in January
- Monday, Feb 26 2018
Card spending was 5.8 per cent higher than in January 2017, although higher repayment levels meant that the pace of borrowing saw little change, growing at 4.8 per cent annually. Gross mortgage lending in January is estimated to have been £13.8bn, 7.7 per cent more than a year earlier and slightly above the monthly average of £21.4bn for 2017. UK businesses' deposits grew by 7 per cent in the past 12 months, while borrowing over the same period contracted slightly by 1.4 per cent. Within business sectors, manufacturers' borrowing expanded modestly, while construction and property-related sectors contracted.