UK consumers reduce their borrowing as expenses rise.

According to Bank of England data released on Wednesday, British consumers raised their borrowing less than anticipated in July, possibly out of prudence as borrowing prices climb.

Unsecured consumer lending increased by 1.191 billion pounds ($1.51 billion) in net terms, which is less than the consensus estimate of 1.3 billion pounds in an economist survey conducted by Reuters and down from the 1.637 billion pounds gain in June.

Consumer credit growth dropped to 7.3% for the 12 months ending in July, which is the smallest expansion since December of the previous year.

The BoE statistics increased indications of a downturn in the property market as bank and building society mortgage approvals fell by more than 5,000 for the month to 49,444, below the 51,000 anticipated in a Reuters poll.

The British economy has so far escaped the widely anticipated recession this year, but this week's drop in a measure of corporate activity to its lowest level since January 2021 stoked concerns about a downturn.

Since December 2021, the BoE has raised interest rates 14 times in a straight in an effort to combat inflation, which peaked in July at around 7%.

(Sources: investing.com, reuters.com)