UK Consumer Credit Growth Misses Forecasts

2026-06-29 08:56 By Luisa Carvalho 1 min. read

Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK eased slightly to £1.66 billion in May of 2026 from the downwardly revised £1.71 billion in the prior month and missing market forecasts of £1.8 billion.

This was slightly below the previous 6-month average of £1.9 billion.

Within this, net borrowing through credit cards was £0.6 billion in May, down from £0.8 billion in April.

Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finance and personal loans, increased to £1.1 billion in May, from £0.9 billion in April.

The annual growth rate for all consumer credit was 8.9% in May, up from 8.7% in April.

Over the same period, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing increased to 12.1% from 11.8%, and the annual growth rate for other forms of consumer credit increased to 7.5% from 7.4%.



News Stream
UK Consumer Credit Growth Misses Forecasts
Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK eased slightly to £1.66 billion in May of 2026 from the downwardly revised £1.71 billion in the prior month and missing market forecasts of £1.8 billion. This was slightly below the previous 6-month average of £1.9 billion. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards was £0.6 billion in May, down from £0.8 billion in April. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finance and personal loans, increased to £1.1 billion in May, from £0.9 billion in April. The annual growth rate for all consumer credit was 8.9% in May, up from 8.7% in April. Over the same period, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing increased to 12.1% from 11.8%, and the annual growth rate for other forms of consumer credit increased to 7.5% from 7.4%.
2026-06-29
UK Consumer Credit Little Changed in April
Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK eased slightly to £1.86 billion in April 2026 from the upwardly revised £1.90 billion in the previous month, though above forecasts of £1.7 billion. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards was £0.8 billion in April, up from £0.7 billion in March. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finance and personal loans, decreased to £1.0 billion from £1.2 billion in March. The annual growth rate for all consumer credit decreased to 8.8% in April. Over the same period, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing decreased to 11.8% from 12.3%, and the annual growth rate for other forms of consumer credit remained unchanged at 7.4%.
2026-06-02
UK Consumer Credit Inches Lower
Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK eased to £1.9 billion in March of 2026 from the upwardly revised £1.94 billion in the previous month, but overshot market forecasts of £1.8 billion. The result was also above the six-month average of £1.8 billion. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finances and personal loans, eased to £1.2 billion from £1.3 billion in the previous month. Meanwhile, consumer credit through credit cards remained relatively unchanged from the previous month at £0.7 billion. The annual growth rate for all consumer credit increased to 8.9% in the period, picking up from the 8.6% increase earlier amid a 12.3% jump in credit card borrowing and 7.4% growth in other forms of consumer credit.
2026-05-01