12 September 2012 6:55am

Business lending activity has fallen to its lowest level since February, suggesting that the improvement in business lending observed in recent months has run out of steam.

Australian Bureau of Statistics figures released yesterday show that commercial financial commitments in July were down five per cent on the previous month (in seasonally adjusted terms).

Lenders provided A$29.8 billion of commercial fixed loans and revolving credit in July, compared with $31.4 billion in June. The July figure is down 15 per cent on April, which has been the peak month for commercial...