Bank of England said, the extra amount borrowed by consumers in order to buy goods and services rose to £1.3 billion in October, above the £1.1 billion average since July 2018. Economists had expected an increase to £0.9 billion from £0.785 billion in September. Net borrowing for both credit cards and other loans and advances rose, to £0.4 billion and £1.0 billion respectively. The annual growth rate of consumer credit was 6.1% in October, up from 5.9% in September. This is the first increase in the annual growth rate since June 2018, but it remains considerably lower than its post-crisis peak of 10.9% in November 2016.

Mortgage market indicators point to continued stability. Net mortgage borrowing by households was £4.3 billion in October, £0.4 billion higher than in September. The recent stability in the monthly flows has left the annual growth rate unchanged at 3.2%, close to levels seen over the past three years. Mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator for future lending) fell slightly in October, to 65,000, but remained within the narrow range seen over the past two years. Mortgage approvals for remortgage strengthened on the month to 51,000.