UK consumer spending drops as inflation hit intensifies

BRITISH consumers’ spending on credit and debit cards fell sharply over the past week and other measures of their behaviour were either stable or declined, weekly data collated by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed.

Credit and debit card spending - which is based on Bank of England CHAPS interbank payment flows, and is not seasonally or inflation adjusted - was 7 percentage points lower in the week to Aug 11 than in the previous week and stood at 97 per cent of its level in February 2020, just before the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Consumer behaviour indicators showed mostly falling or stable activity in the latest week,” the ONS said.

Britain’s economy is expected to enter a recession later this year as inflation climbs further into double digits, hitting consumer spending power. REUTERS