New Delhi: Credit card spending eased by Rs 2.5 billion in October to Rs 2,142 billion, a moderation of 1.1 per cent month‑on‑month but an increase of 6.1 per cent year‑on‑year, driven by a sharp shift toward point‑of‑sale transactions, a report said on Tuesday.

“The strong POS growth can likely be attributed to festive (Diwali) spending, whereas muted online spends are due to the elevated base of the previous month,” the report from Asit C. Mehta Investment Intermediates Limited said.

Point‑of‑sale transactions grew 22 per cent month‑on‑month and 11.4 per cent year‑on‑year, while online spending declined 12.7 per cent MoM and rose 2.7 per cent YoY. The top 10 banks accounted for 94 per cent of total spending, with HDFC Bank recording the highest MoM spending market share gain in October.

An increase of 6.7 per cent is seen in the total number of cards outstanding on a YoY basis, adding a total of 0.63 million cards, the report said. Transaction volumes saw a healthy growth of 4.6 per cent MoM and 19.2 per cent YoY. The YoY growth is lower than the historical average due to a high base last year.

Since volume growth outpaced spend growth, the average spend per transaction declined by 6 per cent MoM and 11 per cent YoY. With card issuance rising and overall spending remaining flat, the average spend per card declined 1.7 per cent MoM and 0.5 per cent YoY.

IndusInd Bank reported a steep 36 per cent MoM decline in average spend per card, due to a sharp fall of 34 per cent in its total spends. Among major banks, HDFC Bank led with 0.14 million new cards, followed by SBI (0.13mn), ICICI Bank (0.1mn), and Axis Bank (0.08mn). HDFC Bank reported the highest YoY gain of 1.12 per cent.

Russia on Tuesday said it is ready to address India’s concerns over the widening trade deficit and proposed building a framework to shield bilateral commerce from pressure by third countries. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, speaking ahead of President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi, said Moscow is also working to stabilise crude supplies after a brief dip linked to Western sanctions, according to PTI.Peskov told reporters during a video-streamed news conference that Friday’s summit between Putin and Prime Minister Narendra Modi will focus on strengthening trade, energy cooperation, small modular nuclear reactors and additional defence projects. Putin is scheduled to arrive on Thursday for the annual meeting.Russia signals efforts to ease trade deficitPeskov acknowledged India’s concern over the large trade gap and said Russia is keen to increase its imports from India. “There is a real imbalance in our trade. We know our Indian friends are concerned about that. We are jointly looking at the possibilities of increasing imports from India. We want to buy more from India,” he said.India’s purchases of Russian goods and services amount to around $ 65 billion, while Russia’s imports from India are around $ 5 billion.He also said Moscow is taking steps to ensure crude supplies remain stable despite the impact of Western restrictions. India’s purchase of Russian oil, he said, may dip only for a “very brief period.”Push for alternative payment systems and sanctions-proof tradePeskov urged the creation of an “architecture” to insulate India-Russia trade from geopolitical pressure. “We should create an architecture of our relationship that must be free of any influence coming from any third country,” he said. He stressed that bilateral trade must be protected from external pressure and that Russia rejects the use of the dollar-denominated global payment system as a “political tool.”He indicated that settlement through national currencies may feature in the Modi-Putin talks. “We understand the pressure on India,” he said, referring to the US.The visit comes at a tense moment in India-US ties, with Washington imposing a 50% tariff on Indian goods and an additional 25% levy linked to New Delhi’s procurement of Russian crude.Defence, nuclear cooperation and technology sharingPeskov highlighted joint production of the BrahMos missile system as a model for high-technology collaboration and said discussions may cover potential supplies of Su-57 fighter jets and additional S-400 air defence systems. He also said cooperation in small and medium nuclear reactors is expected to be part of the talks. Russia has experience producing these systems and is prepared to share the technology with India.On China, Peskov said Russia’s “limitless” partnership with Beijing does not diminish its willingness to deepen ties with India. “We are ready to go as far as India is ready,” he said, adding that Moscow respects India-China relations and hopes both sides resolve their issues to preserve global stability.Ukraine conflict, counter-terrorism and Afghanistan tiesPeskov welcomed recent US mediation efforts in the Ukraine conflict, calling them “very effective” and expressing hope for progress. He said the Russia-Ukraine war will be an important part of the Modi-Putin agenda. “Russia is open for peaceful negotiation; we have to reach our goals. We appreciate the position of India,” he said.He added that Russia is ready to work with India “to combat terrorism,” and said Moscow is strengthening its engagement with Afghanistan. “We’ll continue to develop our relationship with Afghanistan,” he noted.On overall ties, Peskov said Russia is proud to stand “shoulder-to-shoulder” with India during its period of historic growth.