Consumers opened their wallets in June, but did so more slowlyand not as widely as they did in May, payments processor First Data Corpreported Monday.

First Data issues its monthly SpendTrend Report onconsumers' use of payment methods. The report tracks same-storepoint-of-sale data by credit, signature debit, PIN debit, EBT,closed-loop prepaid cardsand checks from nearly four million merchant locations serviced bythe processor.

“This month's trends showed some slowing in spending growth butoverall, spending remains healthy, reflecting the recoveringeconomy and consumer willingness to spend compared to the same timelast year,” Krish Mantripragada, First Data senior vice presidentsaid. “An increase in credit usage reflects steady growth in creditlending, improved consumer credit quality and a growing consumerconfidence in their personal finances.”

First Data attributed the June spending to a slowly improvingeconomy and growing job market. The report observed that spendingslowed slightly from May but remained positive on a year-over-yearbasis, with a growth of 3.0%. Travel and hotel spending slowed fromthe previous month, but growth was still strong in these sectors,with year-over-year increases of 4.9% and 7.1%, respectively. Foodand beverage store spending was up 4.7% compared to May's 4.2%growth, a trend reflecting an increase in food costs, First Datasaid.

Retail spending slowed a bit in June compared to May butremained positive with 1.2% growth. Building growth and gardeningmaterial spending rose 5.7% and furniture and home furnishing salesgrew 1.5%, indicating continued improvement in the housingmarket.

However, a slowly declining unemployment rate caused consumersto remain hesitant and kept overall retail spending growthmoderate, First Data said.

First Data also found credit spending continued to be thepreferred spending method in June with a 5.3% increase intransaction growth and a 3.9% dollar volume growth, driven in partby the increased spending in hotel and travel where credit cardsare predominantly used.