Credit card spending spikes in July

The amount of money spent on credit cards has risen sharply in July, despite the month's historical low credit borrowing, according to moneyextra.com.

Last month's average balance, at £2,933, is the highest figure recorded in six months and is a 10.6 per cent rise on the outstanding average credit car bill for June.

The Bank of England's latest figures say that lending as a whole increased by £0.2 billion compared with a £0.1 billion increase in June.

Consumer credit borrowing for July fell in both 2004 and 2005 but this year, possibly due to the record breaking scorching weather across the country, personal card debt actually increased.

Robin Amlot, of Moneyextra, said that the increase is likely to continue this month. "Outstanding credit card balances have risen by almost 20 per cent since April and they are set to rise further; with holiday costs, back to school costs and year-end festive spending to come.

He added: "It's more important than ever than people make sure they have the right credit card for their circumstances."

Prior to this summer, Brits had been reigning in their notoriously high credit spending as outstanding credit card balances fell from a peak of £3,527 in April 2005 to a low of £2,459 in April this year.

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