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Highlights
- In September, Britain's consumers borrowed an additional £1.1 billion.
- £700 million was on credit cards, and £400 million was via different credit forms, like car finance or personal loans, as per BoE.
- The yearly growth for all consumer credit and credit card borrowing remained unaffected at 7.0% and 12.9%, respectively.
Amid the spiralling cost of living crisis, borrowings of UK consumers have surged. In September, Britain's consumers were forced to borrow an additional £1.1 billion on credit cards or through personal loans.
This amount was marginally lower than July's borrowing of £1.5 billion. According to the Bank of England (BoE), £700 million was on credit cards, and £400 million was via different credit forms, like car finance or personal loans.
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The yearly growth for all consumer credit remained unaffected at 7.0%. This was the highest rate witnessed since March 2019's 7.2%. The annual growth for credit card borrowing also did not change, standing at 12.9%, the highest rate since October 2005.
According to a prominent UK economist Samuel Tombs, households were cutting down their savings and increasing their borrowings to sustain their real spending amidst the rise in CPI inflation levels.
This comes while the borrowing cost has been rising, and the BoE is trying to control the record-high inflation. The central bank has been lifting the interest rates over all its recent meetings, raising it to 2.25%.
While consumers borrow more to tackle the rising living costs, investors can evaluate the performance of the following consumer stocks on the basis of their YTD (year-to-date) returns.
ME Group International plc (LON:MEGP)
With a market cap of £321.33 million, MEGP's YTD return stands at 34.92% as of 3 October. MEGP shares were trading at GBX 85.00 on Monday at around 8:20 AM (GMT+1). With a turnover (on the book) of £2,372.35, the company's EPS (earning per share) currently stands at 0.06.
British American Tobacco Plc (LON: BATS)
The YTD return of the leading British cigarette maker, British American Tobacco Plc, stands at 17.05%, and its one-year return stands at 25.99% as of 3 October. BATS shares were trading at GBX 3,199.50, experiencing a drop of 0.84%, on Monday at around 8:25 AM (GMT+1). At the time of writing, the market cap of the FTSE 100-listed company stands at £72,457.70 million. With a turnover (on the book) of £5,687,030.61, the company's EPS currently stands at 2.97.
Pendragon plc (LON: PDG)
The YTD return of the UK's leading automotive retail firm, Pendragon plc, stands at 17.84% as of 3 October. PDG shares were trading at GBX27.00 on Monday at around 8:30 AM (GMT+1). At the time of writing, PDG's market cap stands at £377.17 million. With a turnover (on the book) of £135,021.60, the company's EPS currently stands at 0.04
