Spending slides on credit cards

Total levels of spending on credit cards are falling, recent figures indicate.

While the yearly rate of spending has continued to grow, the rate at which it expands has slowed to its lowest level since the Reserve Bank of Australian started collecting the data in 1994.

However, toward the end of the year, the rate at which Aussies were spending on their plastic actually fell, figures shown in the Canberra Times indicate.

Savanth Sebastian told the newspaper that the Australian economy is likely to slow, although he believes the country will not fall into recession.

However, people with credit cards are now more concerned about clearing their debts, he said, particularly because unemployment figures are now creeping upwards.

Mr Sebastian added that the downward trend in spending is likely to continue through the first months of this year.

Despite this lack of confidence, the country's prime minister and treasurer believe that Australia is well-placed to weather the crisis.