Commuters return to high streets, credit card in hand

Commuters are returning to UK high streets, clutching their credit cards. The return to the office has boosted credit card spending by 13.7% overall, according to Barclaycard, but that figure includes a 12% increase on essentials driven by rising fuel prices. The figures, it said, were boosted by the easing of work-from-home guidance, which led to more workers going back to commuting. Spending rose last month by 14.5% – its largest rise since November last year, before the emergence of the Omicron variant. The Times (£)