THE public's appetite for debt showed signs of waning last month with unsecured lending rising at its slowest rate for three years.

The Bank of England said borrowing through loans, overdrafts and credit cards increased by £834m last month, well down on November's £1.44bn jump and nearly half October's rise of £1.63bn.

This was despite total advances of £17.44bn during the month, the fourth highest figure on record.

Increases in credit card lending were particularly weak, rising by only £135m, compared with a jump of £475m in November.

Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at stockbroker Gerrard, said: "For some reason, people paid back a lot more debt in December."

He said this may be a reaction to November's rise in interest rates and speculation that rates would rise again early this year.

But analysts said the figures were unlikely to have much impact on the Bank of England's monetary policy committee (MPC), which begins a two-day meeting on Wednesday.

The MPC, which has previously expressed concerns about the levels of debt consumers are taking on, is widely expected to increase the bank base rate from its current level of 3.75 per cent.

Philip Shaw, an economist at Investec, said the lending figures were surprisingly weak and suggested consumer borrowing was slowing down.