Growth of credit card spending in South Korea slowed down for a fourth month in June as global and domestic economic recoveries showed signs of losing steam, a local association of credit providers said Friday.
The Credit Finance Association of Korea said the value of credit card bills approved rose 15.3 percent on-year to 31.36 trillion won (US$26.03 billion) last month, marking the fourth consecutive month of slowdowns since March.
South Korea's credit card spending grew 18.3 percent on-year in November, expanded around 20 percent in December and January, and rose 21.6 percent in February before the growth rate began to lose ground from March.
The association also said that the June figure marks a 2.6 percent decline from the previous month.
In the first half of this year, credit card spending in the country stood at 185.31 trillion won, up 18.4 percent from a year earlier, the association said.
Credit card companies forecast there will be little improvement in card spending in the second half of this year as the global and local economies are showing signs of slowing recoveries and eurozone debt fears remain unsolved.