Consumers repaid less debt than they took on in December

The latest figures from the Bank of England show a net increase of £0.2bn in consumer credit in December, with consumers borrowing more than they paid back.

The figure from the most recent `Lending to Individuals` report is in contrast to the previous month, when net consumer credit was down, at -£0.1bn. However, the two months before that showed similar figures, with net consumer credit standing at £0.4bn (October) and £0.1bn (September).

The increase in net consumer credit could be attributed in part to the busy Christmas period, when many shoppers covered their costs using credit cards and other forms of credit.

Elsewhere, the report showed a fall in net secured lending to -£0.3bn in December, down from £0.5bn in November.

Overall, net lending to individuals stood at -£0.1bn in December, with the -£0.3bn secured lending figure more than cancelling out the £0.2bn increase in consumer lending.