Households’ credit card borrowing grew at the fastest annual rate since 2005 in April, according to Bank of England figures–just as a string of price rises started to hit.
The annual growth rate for all consumer credit, which includes borrowing on credit cards, overdrafts, personal loans, and car finance, increased to 5.7 percent in April from 5.2 percent in March. This was the highest rate since February 2020.
Within the total, the annual growth rate of credit card borrowing was 11.6 percent–marking the highest rate since November 2005–the Money and Credit report said.
A rise in the energy price cap, council tax increases and a 1.25 percentage point rise in National Insurance (NI) to pay for health and social care were among the higher costs in April….