US business equipment borrowings rise 13% in July, ELFA says
22/08/2024 20:00
Aug 22 (Reuters) - U.S. companies increased borrowing to
finance equipment investments by 13% in July compared with the
previous year, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association
said on Thursday.
New loans, leases and lines of credit signed up by companies
in July were up 11% from $10 billion a month earlier.
"Our latest report reflects optimism from industry leaders
that equipment demand should remain healthy over the second half
of the year as the Fed begins to ease monetary policy," ELFA
President and CEO Leigh Lytle said.
The Washington-based company, which reports economic
activity for the over $1-trillion equipment finance sector, also
said that credit approvals for U.S. companies in July were
75.8%, up from 75% in June.
ELFA's non-profit affiliate, the Equipment Leasing & Finance
Foundation, said its confidence index for August stood at 58.4,
up from 50.7 for July, its highest level in more than two years.
A reading above 50 indicates a positive business outlook.
The ELFA's leasing and finance index is based on a 25-member
survey that includes Bank of America BAC.N and financing units
of Caterpillar CAT.N , Dell Technologies DELL.N , Siemens AG
SIEGn.DE , Canon Inc 7751.T and Volvo AB VOLVb.ST .
(Reporting by Anshuman Tripathy in Bengaluru; editing by Alan
Barona)
((Anshuman.Tripathy@thomsonreuters.com))