Credit card spending jumps to £700m in August as people borrow for essentials

Net savings remain unchanged at a figure below pre-pandemic level in sign of stress on family budgets

Spending on credit cards leaped 700m in August as households borrowed heavily to cope with the cost of living crisis.

The increase at a time of heightened anxiety about rising energy bills pushed the annual growth rate in spending on credit cards to 12.9%, its joint highest level since 2005, according to Bank of England data.