UK lenders approve 63,531 mortgages in March, Bank of England says

LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - ​British ⁠mortgage lenders approved ​63,531 mortgages for house purchase ​in ‌March, up from 62,708 in ⁠February and above ⁠the 60,000 ​median forecast in a Reuters poll of economists, Bank of ​England ‌data showed on Friday.

Net unsecured lending to consumers rose by 1.895 ​billion pounds ($2.58 billion), above economists' ‌forecast of a 1.75 billion pound increase.

Rising mortgage ‌rates and a drop in consumer confidence since the start ​of the Iran war have ‌caused property surveyors to report falling prices and buyer ⁠demand ⁠in March, although figures ‌from Nationwide Building Society showed ​house ​prices continuing to ‌rise modestly in April. ($1 = 0.7352 pounds) (Reporting by David Milliken Editing by William Schomberg)