UK mortgage approvals in April come in below market expectations

(Alliance News) - Mortgage approvals in the UK slipped by 5.0% in April from the month before, the Bank of England said on Tuesday.

Approvals for house purchases, an indicator of future borrowing, declined to 66,000 in April from 69,500 in March. The figure came in below the market forecast, cited by FXStreet, of 69,000.

"This is slightly below the 12-month pre-pandemic average up to February 2020 of 66,700," the UK central bank added.

Net borrowing of mortgage debt by individuals dropped by 36% to GBP4.1 billion in April from GBP6.4 billion in March. Gross lending edged up 1.1% to GBP26.5 billion in April from GBP26.2 billion in March, but gross repayments increased more quickly, by 7.5% to GBP21.5 billion in April from GBP20.0 billion in March.

Individuals borrowed an additional GBP1.4 billion in consumer credit in April, on net, following GBP1.3 billion of borrowing in March.

The BoE said: "This is the third consecutive month where borrowing has been higher than the 12-month pre-pandemic average up to February 2020 of GBP1.0 billion. The additional borrowing in April of consumer credit was split between GBP700 million on credit cards, and GBP700 million through other forms of consumer credit - such as car dealership finance and personal loans."

By Paul McGowan; paulmcgowan@alliancenews.com

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