(Repeats to add story keyword used by media customers, no changes to text) July 23 (Reuters) - Borrowings by U.S. companies for capital investments rose about 17% in June from a year earlier, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Friday. The companies signed up for $10.4 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, up from $8.9 billion a year earlier. Borrowings rose 28% from the previous month. “Despite slower-than-desired vaccinations in certain parts of the U.S, consumer spending is accelerating, markets remain strong and unemployment continues to slowly abate, all of which are contributing to a strong economy,” ELFA Chief Executive Officer Ralph Petta said. He said these trends serve as a good indication for the equipment finance sector as it moves into the second half of 2021. Washington-based ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 76.7%, down from 77.4% in May. ELFA’s leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The index is based on a survey of 25 members, including Bank of America Corp, CIT Group Inc and the financing affiliates or units of Caterpillar Inc, Dell Technologies Inc, Siemens AG, Canon Inc and Volvo AB. The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, ELFA’s non-profit affiliate, reported a monthly confidence index of 72.9 in July, up from 71.3 in June. A reading above 50 indicates a positive business outlook. (Reporting by Ashwini Raj in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath) Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.