Growth in credit card spending by South Korean individuals remained unchanged in July from a year ago due apparently to the Middle East Respiratory Syndrome outbreak, data showed Wednesday, pointing to the slow recovery of consumer spending.
  

In July, individuals' credit card billings expanded at an annualized rate of 6.6 percent, the same growth rate posted for the same month a year earlier, according to the data compiled by the Credit Finance Association.
  

The association didn't disclose the value of individuals' total credit card billings.
  

In contrast, overall credit card spending rose 14.5 percent on-year to 56.78 trillion won ($48.19 billion) in July thanks to increased spending by businesses. The amount includes purchases made by credit, debit and prepaid cards.
  

The association attributed the stalled growth of personal credit card spending mainly to the MERS outbreak, the largest outside Saudi Arabia.
  

The country's private spending nosedived after the country confirmed its first MERS case on May 20 as people avoided public venues, including shopping malls and tourist attractions, out of fearing of catching the disease that has killed 36 people in South Korea.
  

In July, combined sales of the country's three major discount outlet chains slipped 1.8 percent on-year, following an 11.9-percent plunge in the previous month.
  

Still, the association pointed out possible signs of recovery.
  

Credit spending in the transportation sector, one of the areas that was hit the hardest by the MERS outbreak, jumped 10.6 percent on-year last month, it said.
  

Purchases made by credit cards at hotels and other tourist facilities fell by 11.8 percent but the drop rate slowed significantly from a 43.6 percent plunge in the previous month.
  

Credit card spending at general hospitals also shrank 7.2 percent on-year in July, but it was an improvement from the 13.8-percent drop in June. (Yonhap)