UK public is borrowing less – but economic fears could reduce spending | Larry Elliott

Paying off debt should give people more to spend, but the Covid-19 crisis has raised job concerns

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Interest rates have never been lower and lenders have slashed the cost of overdrafts. Normally that would be the signal for UK consumers to flash the plastic and take on more debt.

Not this time. According to the Bank of England, households reduced their credit card bills and paid off their non-mortgage loans at a record rate in April. Consumers tend to get warier about borrowing when times are tough: they behaved similarly during the financial crisis of the late 2000s. But a monthly debt repayment of 7.4bn is in a different league from anything seen before.