Bank of England Reports Lending in UK Economy is Down Hinting that the UK Consumer is Becoming More Cautious

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Lending data from the Bank of England confirms the desire for credit is slipping somewhat, which could suggest the all-important UK consumer is tightening its belt.

The Bank of England reports new consumer credit lines stood at £0.817BN in July, down from £1.521BN in June, a figure that comes in well below the £1.50BN forecast be economists.

Net lending to individuals disappointed by coming in at £4.0BN in July, below the £5.4BN reported in June and below analyst expectations for £5.5BN.

The data suggests that UK consumer which has long relied on cheap credit lines to fuel the retail economy might be turning more cautious.

And with UK wage growth stagnant, the developments hint at the potential for lower rates of retail sales and economic performances over coming months.

The Bank of England also reports mortgage approvals for July stood at 64.77K, down on the 65.37K reported in June and below consensus forecasts for 65.00K.

The value of new mortgage lending totalled £3.20BN in July, down on the previous June's £2.85BN and below expectations for £3.90BN.

However, there was a slither of good news - M4 money supply to the economy grew 0.90% month-on-month, an improvement on the -0.3% contraction reported in June and better than the 0.2% growth forecast by economists.