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mpc: 13 The latest evidence suggested that consumption continued to grow robustly. Retail sales had risen by 0.6% in March, so that growth in the first quarter had been the highest since 2002 Q1, and the CBI Distributive Trades survey for April had also pointed to strength. Among the monetary indicators, household deposits and notes and coin (adjusted for various technical factors) maintained firm growth. The annual growth of total lending to individuals had remained above 14½% in March. The annual growth of unsecured lending had been unchanged overall at just over 12%, but within that credit card lending had increased sharply. It was striking that average lending rates on credit cards, personal loans and overdrafts had all fallen since October, before the first repo rate rise. This suggested strong competitive pressures in these markets, a conclusion which was reinforced by Bank contacts with several major lenders. Mortgage equity withdrawal had been very strong in 2003 Q4, and this looked likely to continue in Q1.