Consumers using Barclays credit cards cut their spending for the first time in 18 months in the latest sign of turmoil facing the global economy.
Total spending with Barclaycard was down 0.1 per cent year-on-year marking the first drop since November 2024, where Brits were feeling the pinch of Labour’s first Budget.
Consumers mainly drew back on non-essentials with a fall 0.3 per cent.
But essential spending grew 0.3 per cent, with a major driver coming from a 10.4 per cent surge in fuel – the greatest rise since December 2022 – as consumers stocked up amid the dramatic rise in oil prices.
It comes after oil breached a four-year high of $126 a barrel only a few weeks ago.
The price of crude has continued to climb after the conflict in the Middle East choked supply, with traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, where a fifth of the world’s supply flows through, becoming halted.
Jack Meaning, chief UK economist at Barclays, said: “This data shows consumers are already adapting in response to the shock from the Middle East, for instance, by building up a savings buffer.” Blow to businesses as confidence drops Confidence in the global economy hit a....
