U.K. Consumers Rein in Borrowing as Cost of Living Crisis Bites
- Households also boosted savings in sign of defensive behavior
- Housing market resilient as mortgage lending tops forecasts
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U.K. consumers unexpectedly scaled back borrowing and tucked away extra savings in January as households braced for a cost of living crisis.
Borrowing using credits cards, personal loans and overdrafts totaled 608 million pounds ($805 million), according to Bank of England figures published Tuesday. That was down from 817 million pounds in December and below the average in the second half of 2021.