U.K. mortgage approvals declined unexpectedly to a 7-month low in December, the British Bankers’ Association reported Wednesday.
The number of mortgages approved in December fell to 43,975 from 44,533 in November. It was the lowest since May, when it totaled 42,945. It was forecast to rise to 45,500.
Likewise, mortgages including re-mortgage decreased to 75,745 from 75,971 in the previous month.
Gross mortgage borrowing of GBP 12.4 billion in December was 24 percent higher than a year ago and overall new borrowing in 2015 was some 6 percent higher than the previous year.
“Last year was a strong year for household borrowing,” Richard Woolhouse, chief economist at the BBA, said.
“Over the last few years businesses have been reducing their bank borrowing partly by deleveraging or by refinancing debt through capital markets; 2015 saw business lending other than construction and real estate move into positive annual growth,” said Woolhouse.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com