UK mortgage approvals rise
The number of mortgage approvals hit 66,400 in June, up from 65,650 in May, according to the Bank of England’s latest data, above economists’ expectations and the highest number since January. Howard Archer, an economist at the EYItem Club, said the reprieve from a disruptive Brexit in March, together with better consumer purchasing power and strong jobs growth, had helped, although the “overall benefit has been relatively limited”. Annual lending growth to UK consumers slowed to 5.5% in June, from 5.7% in May, the slowest rate since April 2014.
