March 22 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 11% more in
February than last year to finance equipment investments,
industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA)
said on Wednesday.
"Steady rise in short-term interest rates and stubborn
inflationary pressures do not seem to have suppressed demand for
productive equipment by U.S. businesses," ELFA Chief Executive
Ralph Petta said.
Companies signed up for new loans, leases and lines of
credit worth $7.9 billion last month, compared with $7.1 billion
a year earlier.
"We remain optimistic but sensitive to credit quality as
economic conditions are volatile," said Marc Gingold of Fleet
Advantage, a heavy-duty leasing firm.
ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly
$1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals
totaled 75.7%, a marginal increase from 75.1% in January.
Washington-based ELFA's leasing and finance index measures
the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United
States.
The index is based on a survey of 25 members, including Bank
of America Corp and financing affiliates or units of
Caterpillar Inc , Dell Technologies Inc , Siemens
AG , Canon Inc and Volvo AB .
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's
non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index in March stood
at 50.3, a decrease from 51.8 in February. A reading above 50
indicates a positive business outlook.
(Reporting by Pratyush Thakur in Bengaluru; Editing by Shweta
Agarwal)
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and may not reflect those of Kitco Metals Inc. The author has made every effort to ensure accuracy of information provided; however, neither Kitco Metals Inc. nor the author can guarantee such accuracy. This article is strictly for informational purposes only. It is not a solicitation to make any exchange in commodities, securities or other financial instruments. Kitco Metals Inc. and the author of this article do not accept culpability for losses and/ or damages arising from the use of this publication.