UK Consumer Credit Growth Tops Forecasts

Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK rose slightly to £2 billion in July 2026 from £1.9 billion in June, overshooting market forecasts of £1.8 billion. It was the highest reading since last November, slightly above the previous 6-month average of £1.9 billion. Within this, net credit card borrowing eased to £0.9 billion in July from £1.0 billion in June, while borrowing through other consumer credit, including car finance and personal loans, increased to £1.1 billion from £0.9 billion. The annual growth rate for all consumer credit inched up to 9.2% in July, from 9.1% in June. Over the same period, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing remained unchanged at 12.5%, and the annual growth rate for other forms of consumer credit increased slightly to 7.7%, from 7.6% in June.

Net borrowing of consumer credit by individuals in the UK slightly increased to £1.807 billion in June 2026 from £1.7 billion in May, and beating market forecasts of £1.7 billion. This was in line with the previous 6-month average of £1.8 billion. Within this, net borrowing through credit cards was £0.9 billion in June, up from £0.6 billion in May. Net borrowing through other forms of consumer credit, such as car dealership finance and personal loans, decreased to £0.9 billion in June, from £1.1 billion in May. The annual growth rate for all consumer credit increased slightly to 9.1% in June, the most since July 2018, from 9.0% in May. Over the same period, the annual growth rate for credit card borrowing increased to 12.5% from 12.2%, while for other forms of consumer credit it remained unchanged at 7.6%.

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%.