Fears of a slowdown in the UK economy affecting consumer spending were growing today after figures showed a drop in the amount people spent using credit and debit cards during July.
Total spending on plastic was nearly 4 per cent lower than in June, said research from the Credit Card Research Group (CCRG).
CCRG said summer was traditionally a volatile period for card spending, with summer sales and the weather having a significant impact on how much money people parted with.
But it said that although there was usually a surge in spending at the start of the holiday season, followed by a slowdown in August and September, this year the fallback had come early.
CCRG said: "Given the current focus among economists on the possibility of a slowdown in the UK, the fact that the fallback in card spending appears to have come early this year means that August's figures will be awaited with interest".
The monthly fall should not cause "undue concern" given the strong growth in credit card spending year on year, it noted.
During July £15.9 billion sterling was spent on credit and debit cards, down from June's figure of £16.4 billion.
On a year-on-year basis, credit card spending was up by 12 per cent, and debit card spending rose by over 16 per cent.