SINGAPORE - Bank lending in Singapore slipped by 0.06 per cent in September from a month ago, as a fall in business loans more than offset a rise in consumer loans, preliminary data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) showed on Thursday (Oct 31).

Loans through the domestic banking unit - which captures lending in all currencies, but reflects mainly Singapore-dollar lending - stood at $684.5 billion in September, down from $684.9 billion a month ago.

From a year ago, total lending rose 2.2 per cent, unchanged from the 2.2 per cent year-on-year gain posted in August.

Total business loans dipped 0.2 per cent to $422 billion in September compared with a month ago.

Total consumer loans edged up 0.1 per cent to $262.5 billion in September, marking its first increase since December 2018 after months of contraction.

Housing loans, which account for more than three-quarters of consumer lending, dropped for a ninth straight month, on a month-to-month basis, declining 0.04 per cent to $201.3 billion. Year on year, they were down about 1.3 per cent.

This comes as the local property market has seen demand tempered by cooling measures put in place last July.