US companies borrowed 4% less to finance equipment investments in June than a year ago, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Tuesday.

New loans, leases and lines of credit signed up by companies in June were down 2% from US$10.20 billion a month ago.

ELFA, which reports economic activity for the more than US$1 trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals for US companies came in at 75%, unchanged from May.

"A pullback in origination activity at banks caused overall new business volume to dip in June after double-digit growth in the previous two months," ELFA president and CEO Leigh Lytle said.

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index for July stood at 50.7, up from 50.2 in June. A reading above 50 indicates a positive business outlook.

ELFA's leasing and finance index is based on a 25-member survey, including Bank of America and financing units of Caterpillar, Dell Technologies, Siemens AG, Canon Inc and Volvo AB.

  - Reuters