Pursuits
U.K. Consumers Scale Back Borrowing as Outlook Weakens
- Households increase borrowing at slowest pace since May 2015
- Pound falls as data cast doubt over outlook for spending
This article is for subscribers only.
British households reined in their borrowing in December, casting further doubt over the strength of consumer spending this year.
Unsecured lending rose by 1 billion pounds ($1.2 billion), the least since May 2015 and well below the expectations of economists. On an annual basis, credit growth slowed to 10.6 percent from 10.8 percent in November, the Bank of England figures Tuesday showed. The data came as GfK said consumers remain “gloomy” and worried about the outlook for the economy.