Credit card usage holds up in November

Monday 14 January 2013

The RBA’s November credit card data was out this morning and the news wasn’t bad, at least from the perspective of demand. Spending held at 21.8 billion for the month, a slight pullback from October’s record:

Meanwhile, outstanding balances remained in their distinctly sideways trend, suggesting ongoing limited demand for revolving credit:

It’s worth noting that outstanding balances have not grown since house prices plateaued in late 2010.

About the author

David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific's leading geo-politics and economics portal. He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.