Business credit inquiries increased in the March quarter, with most of the demand coming from the mining states, according to the latest Veda commercial credit demand index.The Veda index, released yesterday, shows business credit inquiries up 8.8 per cent compared with the same period last year. Veda's data is drawn from credit inquiries registered on its commercial database.Inquiries were up 18.6 per cent in the Northern Territory, 11.6 per cent in Western Australia and 10.2 per cent in Queensland. The increase in business credit applications in the quarter was driven by demand for business loans (inquiries up 16.2 per cent compared with the same period last year) and trade credit (inquiries up 9.9 per cent).Applications for asset finance were down 0.5 per cent.Among SMEs (businesses with five to 50 employees) there was heavy demand for overdrafts and credit cards.Veda's head of commercial risk, Moses Samaha, said: "SMEs across Australia appear to be hurting, with credit inquiries traditionally associated with freeing up cash flow [being] on the increase."